>,;. 

‘.-‘,A. j 

OFFICE OF THE A-ITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

u-able John I?. Reed, COrmnieS~Oner 

Bureau of Labor LtIitietiCa 

Au@ t in, Texas 

&&r sir: 

You have re 

upon the above atst 

request a 8tatement 

ing excerpts : 

me, Ipproszmately risteen acn aa RookleE, but, 

many entering the 

co 118ted 88 Rookies. 

a raiata srom 36 to 

vet! dlacontfnued, anU 

friiq a man, la to contact the 

if vacfm~los exlat, he talkr 

Curry exprerraes it, if they spanother three months, 8nd 80 on up to two years. 

The Rookie ia not given a Coamlatlon card by the 

City of Fort Worth, but, by ChieP of Police, and 

is sub&&, ulthout appeal, to dinmissal by the 

Chief Of Police. 
simmrable John D. Rwd, pee. 2 

“The l ta r tlnsalary g of a Rooklo, previous 

to June lst., was $100 per month, but It la now 

$lgl$~ month, and increases $10.00 every six 

until it reaohea $150.00. The equipment 

neces&ry for a man to purohase vhen he atarta 

vork as a Rookie, figures about $100.00. 

"The polloeman that reoelves $150.00 per month, 

has had at least tvo perrs polloe expeclenoe, and 

has attended a sohool of at leaat 60 hours on 

pollee proceedure, and has passod radio oprrators 

test and holds 3rd., class operators lioense, also 

hns had 20 how in trafllo and l oaldent prevention, and also pusrd first aid tests. sahools 

are held about onoe a year and Rookies 8re foroed 

to attend. 

"Rooklos rttend Roll oall sams as other Polioaaen, and thalr ralarl~r are paid out of same 

rund. They have Cosmirsloners. They wear ragular 

poll00 uniforms . They yea8 pollee b8dga and oury 

fire arms. They are oapovered to aske arrerts. 

SOM valk baata, and some ride In oars, also work 

trafilo. JIr. Curry raps t&t only reoently have 

they assignad the Rookie for 84 traiiia duty, 

but, that in theee Sast ahanging times, you got 

to keep man who have radio lloense, on the oars. 

*MATRoIi3- 

"Two matrons are employed, they vork 8 hour 

shifts, none on aiter 11 P.M., although they are 

subject to aall. Thry vsar no uniform nor have 

they a badge, but, are reaognlred as members of the 

Police Department, and are paid frus the aams fund 

4s ths pollee department. The 

and are not sent out on invest 9 

do not mak;eT;;Ets, 

gationa. 

ovared to searoh aad if nsaessary diarobs female 

~aonera. They carry a key to tha j811 and if' 

told by Jailer, oan go to oell and let prison&r 

out. !lBe same applies about putting ismale prlsoner8 in the jail. They take thslr ordera from the 
gonorable John D. Reed, page 3 

captain, dergaent, or, vhoever 18 in authority 

on that shift. Th4y Wed t0 k44p tb4 ill4 ou 

prostitutes, but, thet is not now part 05 their 

duty. 

“A Jlatrons salary is $110.00 pm month, it, 

having been reduaed about three par8 ago f'roll 

$150.00 per month. Aoaardlng to Nr. Curry, 

you must believe thai kairona hera do only pramtlcally Nurses vork, looking after the need8 of 

voaen, . . . and bringing voaen to and frm the 

oonflnod quarter8, et the direatlon of tha jailer." 

Artlale 1583 of th4 Penal Wi8 regulate8 tb4 hours 

4f labor, vaaatlonr, and mlnlnum pay of lwrkrr of th4 Flro 

D8psrtments snd Pollae Dmpartmentr in aorta&n of the luger 

alties of Taxas. 3eotlon 7 of said Artlale, rotorred to by 

you, grovldes as follov8, 

'It 18 furthep provided that in any olty 

of more than seventy-fir0 thouaand (75,000) inhabitants that l aah member of any 8uoh departaant rho11 reoelve a am of One Ied Flfty- 

($150.00) Dollar8 per month 48 a m.lnimum wage 

for said 8arvlaar 80 rendared. 

Vh0 city ofriai4i having obarg4 of th8 fir0 

department or pallae department in any suah aity 

vho violate8 any provl81011 OS thl.8 Artlale shall 

be rlned not 1488 than Ten ( Dollars nor 

aore than OILS Bundrod ($100. Dollam, aud l a4h 

day on which maid olty offialal shall aawe or 

peralt any seotlon of thlr Aat to be vlolsted rhall 

oonrtltuts aud b4 a 84parat4 orf4nre. Aa aasnded 

Aots 135% &4? Leg., i 1 ; Ao ts 

1 937, il 0, P* 3 5E 

zr ,$ . r !, 

l , l n 

Fort Worth is a city of more than 75,000 population, 

8nd therefore the above quoted statutory provision undoubtedly applies to the Fire and Pollee Depsrtments of that alty. 

There reaaina the questlon of vhether, under the faots 

above stated, the Rookle Polloemen and Jail Ratron employed 
Eonorable John D. Reed, page 4 

by the Pollae Department of the Clty of Flit Worth are laaluded with3.11 the provisions or said Seation 7. This, 0r (10~190, 

depends on whether the% are to be clasairied as %mabers of 

the Police Dapartment. The Legislature has not attempted to 

define the mesnUg of that phrase. Nor have ve f'ound any declsion ot a Texas oomt defining the phrase. But Uordr and 

PhP88.8, u&w the heading "Member of Follao Depwtmnt*, 

quotes the following dealsions from I%V York; Rev J4raey, Iwa 

and biaa8achu8etts~ 

"laborer in oity poliae deqartment, vho was 

asslgnet¶ to vork of vashlng cars at police garage, 

held ‘memb4r of police department8 and subject to 

removal only in manna- provided by oharter. Eovart v. Hlg@a, 281 N. Y. 8. 3.24, 245 App., Div. 

. 

“A lieutenant of pollae oeased to be a me8- 

ber OS the poliae for00 vh4n he aoaepted appointment as poll04 wnmeission4r, In riev o? Breat4r 

Nev York Chapter, 11 291, 1549, &ad his Offlee 48 

lieutenant b4oame vaaant. 3ahiefrelin v. might, 

192 1. Y. 3. 729, 732, 200 App. WV. 312. 

‘Under ordinanoe provldlng that olty ~polloe 

dapartmnt should con8lst of aartaln numbeir of 

off’laers and regular patrolmen, and such number or 

ohanaemen as boerd of co8mlasloners deemed advisable to appoint, ahanoeman appointed by oomisstt2n~rs was *member of police departmrept,' even 

though he held over after expiration of Ns appointaent, in viev of P. L. 1917, p. 359, art. 

16, ) 3, N. J. 3. A. 40~47-3, 5, 6. Hulse v. Policemen's Pension Commtsslon of City of Long BBam@h, 

X. J., 13p A. 197, 198. 

"Decedent vhfls acting as 84aretary of olice department, vas appointed reoretary of L 81th 

department o? public safety in saaordanae vlth 

Code 1327, 1 2232, and 0 2181, subd. 7, owned po110eman~s ualform and shield dr star vith vords 

'Captain Police Depwtmsnt* aeroas taee, and had 

charge of all inrpeotors and employees in aanitwy 

dlvlsion or health department and all ssktters pertaining to sanitation and health of community. 
Ronorable John D. Reed, page 5 

Secretary of olty health department lasld ~smsber 

of pollae departwnt,' vlthln St4tute requiring 

payment of monthly pension to aeabers~ vldovs. 

Er* lr* 

Alber, 236 N. W. 86, 88, 212 Iova, 

"Under St. 1909, oh. 188, 8utho~l8ing the 

mayolp and aldermen or borrd of police of cities, 

at his ovn request or at the request of ths ohief 

or superintendent or police, to retire from aotire servloe and plaae upon a pension roll any 

member of the polloe department permanently dlsabled or vho has parformed faithful servloe for 

not 1688 thrn 20 ye4rS, 4 8upmintendent Of 

poll04 could be so retired on a pensioni he being a 'member of the polio* departmsnt,' and 

the povmr oonferred upon him to aeqwst the betlrement of any oth4r member not l xolud.l.nghl.m 

from the general povl8lon that any member may 

nke suoh request. lorratt V. om~~~ll, 102 

1. S. 344, 345, 215 N4sa. 92.” 

lhdsr the authority or th4ae deo181on8, it is 018~ 

that rwh Matron8 and Rookie Polloemen are lnoluded within the 

meaning of the pbrase “aeabors of ths pollee depa&rsnt." 

Furthermore, ve belleve that, in oommon unbrstan&.ng, suah 

RookI Pollaemea and Eatrons -a regmd4d u m8bur of the 

Poliae Dspartment of the Oity of Fort Uorth. Her would ths 

failure to appolnt them in aooordanae vlth the provl8lo~ of 

the city ahavter affeot their status as am&or@ of the police 

department, since they are l otual employees of swh department. Thls very question vas deoided by the Ft. Worth Court 

of Civil Appeala in the reoent oase Of City Of Ft. Uorth v. 

Morrison, et nl., 164 3. W. (26) 771. In that ease t& VidOV 

of a Ft. Yorth fireman sued for addltlonal salary allrged 

to have been di& her husband under the terms of s&Id LLrtlole 

1583. The city defended In the ground that no Flre Department and no such office as Fireman v&s evu oreated bj ordlmnoe or resolution duly passed in aooox-danos with the rovl- 

#ions of the charter of said city. On th.l.8 point the E ourt 

said* 

"Ye see no dlstinotlon betveen ths rights 

of a Firsman vho IS a de jure Offleer and one 

vho 1s a de facto orrioer, under ths provision 

of suoh Act. 
Ronorablo John D. Rood, pqw 6 

“We do not bellem th8t the Oity of Fort 

Worth, b7 8imply.f~ or uoglooting to ps88 an 

ordlnanae or rarolation, in t!u mannel~ provided 

for bT the Clt7'r ohrctor, aan defeat the right 

of my Flre~~lra, who wanr ratu8llp hired by and 

who beam8 (L part of the Pim D8partarnt of ruah 

City, rogUdle88 Of the mUmar invbiah 8UOhhpartmerit ~8 ammted by the City. 

%e do not bellevo that the oplnlan, in 

Olt7 of -1188 t. WaDonald, 130 Tax. 299, 103 

3. If. 26 725, 18 oOntrO1~ in the a888 before 

~8. Tbr two 088.8 -0 .a807 dl8tingui8h@d br 

8 more roadlng oi the faatr. 

“The JWOV18iool of the City’8 ahelm mka 

it wt0m that th0 City e* l l rrr inta in a rare 

torso aoxmirting of the Fire Chief and 8UOh other 

otliaw8, fir.~n and Wp107e.8 l 8 ma 

l d b7 ordixmnoe or ~o8OlutlO~ Of tha i! 

b. proridounall.' 

%li8 atiter 18 tdW OP@IliCr hU Of 8ald 

cit7 u&d it8 r*l&ion to the cit7 ix not unlike 

tha relatloll or the 0oMt1tut1on of the swx of 

90-8 t0 th8 Bt4te. W~ro em ba no doubt but 

t&&t 88id OltJ la 80~ unnor are&ted @ Ffro Depastmnt and provided for the o?floera and Sir.- 

mn md other wp107008 therein. 

"T&J Yore all do t&at0 offioo~8, in our 

opinion, and vere aat- ‘omp1oyoo8.” 

It ir therefore OIP opinion th8t, under the faat8 

rubnitted, th8 ROOki POliOOeUr 4nd th. Jail J@trOIL8 Of th8 

Clt7 OS Fort Vorth are lnaludod within th8 prorl8lon8 of Seation 7 of Artlalo 1583, 8Uwa..