N.Y. CPL Law § 2.20 — New York Code / Act CPL / Part 1 / Title A / Article 2 / Section 2.20
Powers of peace officers
Status: in_force

§ 2.20 Powers of peace officers.\n  1. The persons designated in section 2.10 of this article shall have\nthe following powers:\n  (a) The power to make warrantless arrests pursuant to section 140.25\nof this chapter.\n  (b) The power to use physical force and deadly physical force in\nmaking an arrest or preventing an escape pursuant to section 35.30 of\nthe penal law.\n  (c) The power to carry out warrantless searches whenever such searches\nare constitutionally permissible and acting pursuant to their special\nduties.\n  (d) The power to issue appearance tickets pursuant to subdivision\nthree of section 150.20 of this chapter, when acting pursuant to their\nspecial duties. New York city special patrolmen shall have the power to\nissue an appearance ticket only when it is pursuant to rules and\nregulations of the police commissioner of the city of New York.\n  (e) The power to issue uniform appearance tickets pursuant to article\ntwenty-seven of the parks, recreation and historic preservation law and\nto issue simplified traffic informations pursuant to section 100.25 of\nthis chapter and section two hundred seven of the vehicle and traffic\nlaw whenever acting pursuant to their special duties.\n  (f) The power to issue a uniform navigation summons and/or complaint\npursuant to section nineteen of the navigation law whenever acting\npursuant to their special duties.\n  (g) The power to issue uniform appearance tickets pursuant to article\nseventy-one of the environmental conservation law, whenever acting\npursuant to their special duties.\n  (h) The power to possess and take custody of firearms not owned by the\npeace officer, for the purpose of disposing, guarding, or any other\nlawful purpose, consistent with his duties as a peace officer.\n  (i) Any other power which a particular peace officer is otherwise\nauthorized to exercise by any general, special or local law or charter\nwhenever acting pursuant to his special duties, provided such power is\nnot inconsistent with the provisions of the penal law or this chapter.\n  (j) Uniformed court officers shall have the power to issue traffic\nsummonses and complaints for parking, standing, or stopping violations\npursuant to the vehicle and traffic law whenever acting pursuant to\ntheir special duties.\n  2. For the purposes of this section a peace officer acts pursuant to\nhis special duties when he performs the duties of his office, pursuant\nto the specialized nature of his particular employment, whereby he is\nrequired or authorized to enforce any general, special or local law or\ncharter, rule, regulation, judgment or order.\n  3. A peace officer, whether or not acting pursuant to his special\nduties, who lawfully exercises any of the powers conferred upon him\npursuant to this section, shall be deemed to be acting within the scope\nof his public employment for purposes of defense and indemnification\nrights and benefits that he may be otherwise entitled to under the\nprovisions of section fifty-k of the general municipal law, section\nseventeen or eighteen of the public officers law, or any other\napplicable section of law.\n