H. B. 2308
(By Delegate McGraw)
[Introduced January 14, 1998
; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section one-a, article six, chapter
sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to crimes against
the peace; emergency situations; authorizing the
establishment of police lines, perimeters or barricades; and
exemption of members of the press.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one-a, article six, chapter sixty-one of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE.
§61-6-1a. Control of riots and unlawful assemblages;
establishing police lines, perimeters or barricades.
Members of the department of public safety, sheriffs and
mayors and those acting under their order, may, when engaged in
suppressing a riot, rout or unlawful assemblage, or whenever
fires, accidents, wrecks, explosions, crimes or other emergency
situations arise causing persons to gather on any public streets,
alleys, highways, parking lots or other public areas, cordon off
any area or areas threatened by such fire, accident, wreck,
explosion, crime, riot, rout, or unlawful assemblage or other
emergency situations and may take all actions which are necessary
and reasonable under the emergency to restore law and order, and
such actions may be, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) Establishing such areas, zones or perimeters by the
placement of police lines or barricades as are reasonably
necessary to: (i) Preserve the integrity of evidence at such
scenes; (ii) facilitate the movement of vehicular and pedestrian
traffic into, out of and around the scene; (iii) permit
firefighters, law-enforcement officers and emergency services
personnel to perform necessary operations unimpeded; and (iv)
protect persons and property. Any police line or barricade
erected for these purposes shall be clearly identified by wording
such as "POLICE LINE -- DO NOT CROSS" or other similar wording. If material or equipment is not available for identifiable
law-enforcement officials and positioned to indicate a location
of a police line or barricade, no access shall be given to any
person or persons attempting to cross police lines or barricades
without proper authorization. Such a scene may be secured no
longer than is reasonably necessary to effect the above-described
purposes. Nothing in this section may limit or otherwise affect
the authority of, or be construed to deny access to such scene
by, any person charged by law with the responsibility of
rendering assistance at or investigating any such fires,
accidents, wrecks, explosions, crimes, riots, routs, unlawful
assemblages or other emergency situations. Members of the news
media, when gathering news, are exempt from the provisions of
this section except that it is unlawful for such persons to
obstruct any law-enforcement officers, firefighters and rescue
workers from the performance of their duties at the scene. These
media personnel proceed at their own risk.
(a) (b) Prohibit the sale, offering for sale, dispensing,
furnishing or transportation of firearms or other dangerous
weapons, ammunition, dynamite or other dangerous explosives in,
to or from such areas.
(b) (c) Prohibit the sale, offering for sale, dispensing, furnishing or consumption of alcoholic beverages or
nonintoxicating beer in a public place in such areas, and
prohibit the transportation of alcoholic beverages or
nonintoxicating beer in, to or from such areas.
(c) (d) Impose curfews, as required, to control movement of
persons in, to and from such areas.
(d) (e) Enter a private dwelling or other building or other
private place in such areas when in fresh pursuit of a rioter,
when in search of a sniper who has fired upon a person from such
a dwelling or other building or place or when in search of
firearms, other dangerous weapons, ammunition, dynamite or other
dangerous explosives when there is reason to believe that such
items are stored in the said dwelling, building or place and that
they will be removed therefrom before a search warrant could be
obtained.
No person shall may wilfully willfully fail to obey a lawful
order of any mayor, sheriff, deputy sheriff, municipal police
officer, member of the department of public safety, or other
officer, given pursuant to this section.
Any person who violates an order given pursuant to the
authority of this section shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than
six months, or both fined and imprisoned.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the
establishment of police lines, perimeters and barricades in
emergency situations.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.