(a) None of the provisions of this section shall apply to peace officers employed by law enforcement units in the territory on the effective date of this section. On the effective date of this chapter, an employed peace officer may choose to be certified under this chapter, and if so the Council shall have the authority to recognize equivalent instruction received by the peace officer before the effective date of this chapter. If such instruction is recognized then it shall be in lieu of part or parts of the minimum hours of instruction required for certification by this chapter. After the effective date of this section, no peace officer may be permanently employed, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, by any law enforcement unit without certification from the Council that the candidate had met the requirements provided for in this chapter.
(b) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to emergency peace officers. For purposes of this section “emergency peace officers” means any peace officer who is employed or appointed to act as a peace officer during an emergency or disaster, which has been so declared by the Governor, and whose status as a peace officer is intended to be temporary and for that limited purpose.
(c) A peace officer so employed who does not comply with the provisions of this section shall not be authorized to exercise the powers of law enforcement officers, generally, and particularly shall not be authorized to exercise the power of arrest, and any arrest so made shall be deemed illegal, and any proceeding under it null and void.