Jefferson County, Missouri "Safe-Travel-Open Passage” law draft

7/27/2019 Jefferson County, Missouri "Safe-Travel-Open Passage law draft

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BILL NO.: 13- ORDINANCE NO.: 13- _________

INTRODUCED BY: COUNCIL MEMBER (s) _________________

AN ORDINANCE TO LIMIT NON-EMERGENCY REGULATORY1

TRAFFIC STOPS ON THE ROADWAYS OF UNINCORPORATED JEFFERSON2

COUNTY, MISSOURI.3

WHEREAS, Chapter 43 U.S.C. Section 1063 provides, in pertinent part that, no4

person, by force, threats, intimidation or any other unlawful means, shall prevent or5

obstruct, or shall combine and confederate with others to prevent or obstruct free6

passage or transit over or through the public lands, and7

WHEREAS, The Home Rule Charter of Jefferson County, Missouri, (Charter)8

Section 3.4.2.32 provides that the County Council, provide for the protection of public9

health; and provide for law enforcement and the regulation of traffic; and,10

WHEREAS, The Charter, Section 3.4.2.21 provides that the County Council11

adopt codes, standards, or regulations relating to traffic; and,12

WHEREAS, The Charter, Section 3.4.2.35 provides that, If any doubt exists13

among County Officers or members of commissions or boards regarding which14

Department, Division, County Officer, commission or board of the County existing when15

this Charter was adopted is to exercise or perform any power or duty conferred or16

imposed by Missouri Law or by this Charter, specify which Department, Division,17

County Officer or board or commission is to have that power or duty; and,18


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WHEREAS, The Charter, Section 5.2.5.3 provides that, The Sheriff must1

supervise, manage and administer the enforcement by the Department of the Sheriff of all2

Ordinances, rules, regulations and orders of the County Government, except where such3

enforcement is assigned to other Departments as provided in this Charter; and,4

WHEREAS, It is the intent of the County of Jefferson, Missouri, to afford its5

residents a right to privacy that includes not being subjected to detention, search, or6

seizure in circumstances where there is no reasonable suspicion that they are an imminent7

threat to the safety of others; and,8

WHEREAS, At the same time, the County recognizes that emergency vehicle9

roadblocks might effectively respond to immediate threats to the health, safety, and10

welfare of the public; and,11

WHEREAS, As such, this Ordinance specifically does not restrict a roadblock12

used in exigent or emergency circumstances in which Sheriff Deputies are in Fresh13

Pursuit of a person believed to have committed a felony, solely for the purpose of14

locating and apprehending said person in which reasonable circumstances would dictate15

that said person was using the location of the roadblock for ingress and egress; and,16

WHEREAS, the County Council believes this to be in the best interest of the17

citizens of Jefferson County, Missouri.18

BE IT ENACTED BY THE JEFFERSON COUNTY, MISSOURI,19

COUNCIL, AS FOLLOWS:20

Section 1. This Ordinance shall be known as the, Safe-Travel-Open21

Passage law.22


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Section 2. The Jefferson County, Missouri, Code of Ordinances, Title III 1

Traffic Code is hereby amended as follows:2

INSERT THE FOLLOWING INTO THE CODE OF ORDINANCES:3

SECTION 300.160: DEFINITIONS4

NON-EMERGENCY VEHICLE ROADBLOCKS: any roadblock that is not created5

in exigent or emergency circumstances in which Sheriff Deputies are in Fresh6

Pursuit of a person believed to have committed a felony, which is conducted solely7

for the purpose of locating and apprehending said person in which reasonable8

circumstances would dictate that said person was using the location of the roadblock9

for ingress and egress.10

NEW SECTION 345.14011

A. Non-emergency vehicle roadblocks may be conducted within this county12

only as provided in this section.13

B. Non-emergency vehicle roadblocks may only be conducted to enforce14

compliance with the law regarding the following:15

i. Driving while intoxicated under Section 577.010 or 577.012 of the16

Revised Statutes of Missouri,17

ii. Driving while intoxicated under Section 325.010 of the Jefferson18

County Code of Ordinances,19

iii. Driving with excessive blood alcohol content, Section 325.02020

Jefferson County Code of Ordinances, and21


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C. Any vehicle roadblock conducted under this section shall meet the1

following requirements:2

i. The location of the roadblock, the time during which the roadblock3

will be conducted, and the procedure to be used while conducting the4

roadblock shall be determined and set forth in writing by the Sheriff;5

ii. The roadblock location shall be selected for its safety and visibility6

to oncoming motorists, and adequate advance warning signs, illuminated7

at night or under conditions of poor visibility, shall be erected to provide8

timely information to approaching motorists of the roadblock and its9

nature;10

iii. There shall be uniformed officers and marked official vehicles of11

the law enforcement agency or agencies involved, in sufficient quantity12

and visibility to demonstrate the official nature of the roadblock;13

iv. The selection of motor vehicles to be stopped shall not be14

arbitrary;15

v. The roadblock shall be conducted to minimize the inconvenience16

of the motorists involved; and17

D. No officer, while conducting a non-emergency vehicle roadblock, shall18

request from the driver or occupant of any motor vehicle proof of compliance19

with any law other than those laws described in subsection 3 of the section unless20

the officer first has articulable probable cause to belief the driver of the motor21

vehicle is in violation of a law described in subsection 3 of this section.22


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E. Any driver or operator of a motor vehicle who is subject to a non-1

emergency vehicle roadblock conducted by employees of the Sheriffs2

Department that does not comply with this section is entitled to a civil penalty of3

$1,000.00 to be paid from the budget of the Sheriffs Department.4

Section 3. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its5

date of approval. If any part of this Ordinance is invalid for any reason, such invalidity6

shall not affect the remainder of this Ordinance.7

8

THIS ORDINANCE BEING DULY INTRODUCED, THE MEMBERS OF

THE JEFFERSON COUNTY, MISSOURI, COUNCIL VOTED AS FOLLOWS:

Council Member District 1, Don Bickowski, _________

Council Member District 2, Renee Reuter, _________

Council Member District 3, Robert Boyer, _________

Council Member District 4, George Engelbach, _________

Council Member District 5, Terri Kreitler, _________

Council Member District 6, Cliff Lane, _________

Council Member District 7, Kelly Waymon, _________


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THIS ORDINANCE IS PASSED THIS ______ DAY OF ___________ 2013.

_______________________________

Kelly Waymon, County Council Chair

ATTEST:

______________________

Wes Wagner, County Clerk

BY: ___________________

APPROVED THIS ________ DAY OF __________________ 2013.

_______________________________________________

Kenneth B. Waller, Jefferson County, Missouri, Executive

ATTEST:

______________________

Wes Wagner, County Clerk

BY: __________________Deputy Clerk

First Reading:

Second Reading:

Third Reading:

Documents

Jefferson County, Missouri "Safe-Travel-Open Passage” law draft