it seems I opened a can of worms...I now see the massive debates on other forums about this subject so I'll have to lay this to rest to dodge some bullets. ;-)
Yes you did!
There is tremendous rivalry between different "branches of LE", but some of the things that I think all LEOs (of every stripe) will agree upon is that the following are the WRONG reasons to become one:
- desire to carry a gun w/o hassle,
- desire to get out of traffic tickets,
- desire to "flash the badge" and demand respect,
- desire to obtain guns that mere mortals aren't allowed to buy (or buy new),
- personal ego stroking,
- etc. (you should have gotten the point by now
)
As to "who is a LEO" . . .
- If you ask some Feds this question, they look their noses down on all State and Municipal police!
- If you ask some State Troopers, they will look their noses down on all Municipal police.
- If you ask some Municipal Police Officers, they will look their noses down on State Troopers, all Auxiliary/Special/Reserve Police Officers.
- Everyone looks down their noses at the Auxiliary/Special/Reserve Police Officers, Sheriffs Department, Constables, Harbormasters, etc.
Here are some examples from MGL wrt Constables that really gets Municipal Chiefs (and unions) panties in a twist:
• MGL Ch. 90 Sect. 1 – which clearly states that Constables have authority (although we don’t usually use it) to enforce motor vehicle law.
• MGL Ch. 56 Sect. 57 – which states “. . . constables shall arrest without a warrant any person detected in the act of violating any provision of . . .“ the election laws.
• MGL Ch. 41 Sect. 95 – “If a warrant is issued against a person for an alleged crime committed within any town, any constable thereof to whom the warrant is directed may apprehend him in any place in the commonwealth.”
Someone I know used to work all the elections in his town (in MetroWest) as a Constable. The union and police chief objected as it was "taking away OT pay" from the troops and he (Constable) lost that battle on political turf. Under statute, he was absolutely correct, however the chief has a lot more political clout than any Constable will ever have.
Most of the newspapers and news stations considered the guard at the Boston hospital shooting "law enforcement", because he was an off-duty "special police" or guard or whatever. I guess a lot of people, some here, took exception to that. So, "it depends" is the answer.
Since MA discourages "self-help" being able to tag the do-gooder as LE in any way "makes it alright" in the eyes of the bureaucracy and LSM . . . without changing the most important message "that a common citizen should never get involved, just call 911 and wait to die"!
If the badge says POLICE then they are a LEO. All else is immaterial.
Really? So the only LEOs are those that say "Police" in their title?
So, according to you, DEA Agents, FBI Agents, etc. aren't really LEOs?
If the question is "who is a police officer" then the correct answer would be "anyone with 'police' in their title. However, the term LE and LEO encompasses more than "police officers" by definition. The fact that some folks don't see it that way is due to personal prejudice, not due to a flaw in definitions. [See some cites from MGLs wrt Constables above as an example.]
To add to my post before someone says those groups are unequal in jurisdiction, consider environmental police. They have the widest jurisdiction by far in this state but aren't allowed to carry into some courts for whatever arbitrary reason like a town or state police officer.
The Chief Justice of EACH COURT makes a determination on WHO can carry in his courthouse in MA. VERY strange system, but that is the only official answer and is not related to who has what authority in LE. There are some courthouses in MA that don't want any local POs carrying, Most Federal courthouses in MA will not allow any LEO (other than Feds) to carry in their courthouses. I've been allowed to carry in some MA courthouses and been requested to lock it up in others.
So this is not indicative of LE power . . . only the power of the Chief Justice of that particular courthouse.