Duties and powers of constable or deputy; circumstances under which constable or deputy has powers of peace officer and may carry firearm; certain constables and deputies required to wear badges; duties and powers of sheriff or deputy.

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1. Subject to the provisions of subsections 2 and 3, each constable shall:

(a) Be a peace officer.

(b) Execute the process, writs or warrants of courts of justice, judicial officers and coroners, when delivered to the constable for that purpose.

(c) Discharge such other duties as are or may be prescribed by law.

2. Subject to the provisions of subsection 3, a constable or deputy constable has the powers of a peace officer:

(a) For the discharge of duties as are or may be prescribed by law;

(b) For the purpose of arresting a person for a public offense committed or attempted in the presence of the constable or deputy constable, if the constable or deputy constable has reasonable cause to believe that the arrest is necessary to prevent harm to other persons or the escape of the person who committed or attempted the public offense; and

(c) In addition to the circumstances described in paragraphs (a) and (b):

(1) In an area within the limits of an incorporated city, for the purposes authorized by and with the consent of the chief of police of the city; and

(2) In an area that is not within the limits of an incorporated city, for the purposes authorized by and with the consent of the sheriff of the county.

3. The constable and each deputy constable of a township shall not carry a firearm in the performance of his or her duties unless:

(a) The constable has adopted a written policy on the use of deadly force by the constable and each deputy constable; and

(b) The constable and each deputy constable has received training regarding the policy.

4. A constable or deputy constable authorized to carry a firearm pursuant to subsection 3 must receive training approved by the Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission in the use of firearms at least once every 6 months.

5. A constable or deputy constable who wears a uniform in the performance of his or her duties shall display prominently as part of that uniform a badge, nameplate or other uniform piece which clearly displays the name or an identification number of the constable or deputy constable.

6. Pursuant to the procedures and subject to the limitations set forth in chapters 482 and 484A to 484E, inclusive, of NRS, a constable may issue a citation to an owner or driver, as appropriate, of a vehicle which is located in his or her township at the time the citation is issued and which is required to be registered in this State if the constable determines that the vehicle is not properly registered. Upon the imposition of punishment pursuant to NRS 482.385 on the person to whom the citation is issued, the constable is entitled to charge and collect a fee of $100 from the person to whom the citation is issued, which:

(a) Must be collected by a court that imposes punishment pursuant to NRS 482.385 on behalf of the constable who issued the citation and forwarded by the court to the constable; and

(b) May be retained by the constable as compensation.

7. If a sheriff or the sheriff’s deputy in any county in this State arrests a person charged with a criminal offense or in the commission of an offense, the sheriff or the sheriff’s deputy shall serve all process, whether mesne or final, and attend the court executing the order thereof in the prosecution of the person so arrested, whether in a justice court or a district court, to the conclusion, and whether the offense is an offense of which a justice of the peace has jurisdiction, or whether the proceeding is a preliminary examination or hearing. The sheriff or the sheriff’s deputy shall collect the same fees and in the same manner therefor as the constable of the township in which the justice court is held would receive for the same service.

[6:82:1861; A 1887, 134; C § 2321; RL § 1692; NCL § 2192] — (NRS A 1991, 408; 2001, 1456; 2009, 3012; 2013, 2948; 2015, 2517; 2019, 1556)


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