§ 36-8-3-7 — Police officers and firefighters; special duty; school security police

(a) The safety board may detail regular police
officers or firefighters, or appoint and swear an additional number of
special police officers or firefighters, to do special duty within the city.
Regular police officers and firefighters serving special duty shall be
paid the same rate per diem for this service as is paid to members of the
department in their regular employment. The board may determine the
compensation of persons serving special duty in all other cases.
(b) Unless the safety board designates otherwise, the special police
officers are subject to the police chief and the special firefighters are
subject to the fire chief. If they are employees of departments other
than the police or fire department, they shall obey the rules of their
respective departments and conform to its discipline and orders to the
extent these do not conflict with the orders of the safety board. A
person other than a regular police officer or firefighter may not wear a
uniform the design of which is not easily distinguishable from or which
conforms with respect to the color or design of the state police or a
sheriff's patrol of the county in which the city is located or the police
or fire department of the city. Special police officers and firefighters,
during the term of their appointment, have those powers, privileges,
and duties assigned to them by the safety board. They have these
powers, privileges, and duties only while fulfilling the specific
responsibilities for which the appointment is made. Persons other than
regular police officers and firefighters appointed under this section may
be removed by the safety board at any time without notice and without
assigning any cause.
(c) The powers and duties of officers appointed to serve as security
police for school corporations include:
(1) the protection of school personnel while on school business,
including school children, employees, and members of the
governing body of the school corporation; and
(2) the protection of all school corporation property.
(d) Auxiliary firefighters directly connected with and created to
augment the regular fire departments may wear a uniform the design of
which is established by the safety board. Persons so appointed may be
removed at any time by the board, without notice and without assigning
any cause.
(e) In time of emergency the safety board may also detail members
from the police or fire department for the use of any other department
of the city government.
(f) This subsection applies only to a special officer who is employed
full time by a consolidated city to perform park ranger duties after June
30, 2023. A special officer is subject to IC 5-2-1, and the facilities of
the law enforcement academy shall be used to provide the special
officer's basic training under IC 5-2-1-9(d).
[Pre-Local Government Recodification Citation: 18-1-11-5
part.]
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.52. Amended by
P.L.360-1983, SEC.1; P.L.173-2023, SEC.4.