9 2 [9 0 O p
. A tt ’y
LA W EN F ORCE M EN T OF F I CE RS
A RREST

– C RI MINAL L A W

– W HE T HE R M ARYL AN D L A W G RANTS N SA P OLI CE L A W E NFOR CEMENT P OWER S

J une 27, 2005

T he Hon orab l e Joh n W

. E

. C l ust er, Jr. H ous e of D el egat es

Y ou h a v e r e q u e s t e d o u r o p i n i o n c o n c e r n i n g t h e l aw enfor cement aut hor i t yo f the N at i onal Secur i t yA gency( “N SA ”) pol i ce under M ar y l and l aw
. Speci fi cal l y , y ou have a s ked: ( 1) w h etheran N SA pol i ce of fi ceri s cover ed undercer t ai n pr ovi s i ons o f S tat e law that co n fe r va ri o u s p o w ers o n law en fo rce m en t of fice rs

– A n n o tat ed C o d e o f M ary land , C ri m inal P roc ed u re A rt icl e (“ C P ”), §§2- 101 t h rou g h 2- 104 and §§2- 201 t hr ough 2- 205 – and ( 2) w h e th e r a n N S A o f

f ice r m a y tak e a c tio n if

a c rim e is c o m m itt e d in t he of fi c e r ’ s pr e s e nc e ou t si de t he t e r r i t or i a l j ur i s di c t i on of N SA p o lic e
. F or t he reasons exp l ai ned below , w e con cl ud e as foll ow s: ( 1) M o st of

t hes e M ar y l and s t atut or ypr ovi s i ons confe r r i ng pow er s on pol i ce of

fi cer s do n o t d ir ec tl yappl yt o an N SA offi cer bec a u s e a n NSA o f

f i c e r i s n o t a “ p o l i c e o f

f i c e r ” a s d e f

i n e d i n t he C r i m i nal Pr ocedur e A r t i cl e. C er t ai n pr ovi s i ons appl i cabl e t o a “fe der al l aw enfor cement offi cer ” w oul d appl yt o an N SA offi cer act i ng w i t hi n t he t er r i t or i al j ur i s di ct i on of t he N SA pol i ce. (2) U n d er M ary land law , an N S A o ff icer m ay m ak e a cit izen ’s ar r es t , i f t he off

i cerw i t nes s es cer t ai n crim es out s i de t he t er r i t or i al j ur i s di ct i on of t he N SA pol i ce.G en. 92] 93

T h e N ati o n a l Se c urit

y A g e n c y A c t o f 1 9 5 9 is un c o d if ie d

. The 1 curr ent provisions of §11 of the Act can be found in a note following50 U.S.C.A. §402 (West S upp. 2005).
UntilDe c e mbe r 2 8, 20 01 , th e a uth ority of NSA’ s se c urity 2 protec tive office rs was premised on a deleg ation by the Administrator of Gene ral S erv i ces. TheIntellige nce Authorization Act for F iscal Ye ar 2002, Pub. L . No. 107-108, §50 6 , 115 Stat. 1394, 1406 (2001), grante d NSA authority

to main t ai n s ecurity

personne l without relianceon the Gene ral Servic es Administration.
Whe n e ng a g e d in

thepe rf or manc e of the ir of fi c ia l dutie s, NSA 3 of fi c e rsm u s t b e“ c l e a rly i d enti fi a blea s Unit e d St ate s G ov e rnme nt s e c urity personne l.” Id. , §11(c) . They areentitled to immuni ty

under provisions of fe de ra l law re latin g to tor t liab ili ty , in c ludingtheF e de ral T or t Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §2671, et seq. , consistent with protec tion available to other fede ral lawenforceme nt office rs. Id. , §11(d).
NSA office rs also enf

orcerules and regulations presc ribed by the 4 Direc tor of NSA within th e co n fi nes of NSA f acilities. SeeNational Security Ag ency Act, §11(a)(4) and (b)

.

I
N SA P ol i ce U nder t he N at i onal Secur i t y A gency A ct of 1959, as amended, 1 t h e D ir ect or of t he N SA m ayempl oys ecur i t yoffi cer s fort he p ro te c tio n o f

N S A f a c ili ties . T h e A c t allo w s th e D ire c to r to “author i ze agenc y per s onnel w i t hi n t he U ni t ed St at es t o per for m t he s ame funct i on s as offi cer s and age nt s of t he D epar t m entof H om el and Secur i t y , as pr ovi ded i n [40 U

. S. C

. §1315( b) ( 2) ] , w i t h t he po w ers setfort h in t hat s ect i on , ” w i t hin speci fi ed locat i on s. N at i onal Secur i t yA gencyA ct , §11( a) ( 1)

. I n t he per for m ance of 2 t heirdu t i es, N S A off

i cers m ay , am on g other t hings, carr yfi rear m s, enfor ce f eder al l aw s fort he pr ot ect i on of per s ons and p r oper t y , m ake cer t ai n w ar r ant l es s ar r est s, s er ve w ar r ant s and s ubpoenas , and con du ct i nv est i gati on s. See 40 U

. S. C. §1 31 5( b) ( 2)

. The N SA 3 pol i ce thus have a ut hor i t yequi val entt o ot herpol i ce of fice rs des i gnat ed byt he S ecr et ar y of H om el and Secur i t yfort he pr ot ect i on o f f e d e ra l p ro p e rty , b u t w ith a n im p o rta n t li m ita ti o n a s to j ur i s di ct i on. 4
U ndert he N at i onal Secur i t yA ct , t he N SA offi cer s ’ exer ci s e of th e ir p o w e rs is lim ited to th e f o llo w in g ter rito ry :9 4 [9 0 O p
. A tt ’y ( A ) att he N at i onal Se cu r i t yA gency H eadqua r t er s compl e x a n d a tanyfac i l i t i es and pr ot ect ed pr oper t yw hi ch ar e s ol el yundert he admi ni s t rati on and contr ol of, or ar e us ed e x c l u s i v e l y b y, t h e N a t i o n a l S e c u r i t y A g e n c y; and ( B ) i n t he st r eet s , s i dew al ks , and t he open ar eas w i t hi n t he zone begi nni ng at t he out s i de bou ndar yof s uch fa ci l i t i es or pr ot ect ed p ro p e rtya n d e x ten d in g o u tw a rd 5 0 0 f e e t.
N at i onal Secur i t yA gencyA ct , §11( a) ( 1)

. T hei r j ur i s di ct i on bey ond th e b o u n d a rie s o f a n N S A f a c ili ty , w ith in th e 5 0 0 -f o o t p e rim e ter , is fur t herl i m i t ed t o “t hos e ci r cumst an ce s w her e [the off i cer s ] can i dent i fys peci fi c and ar t i cul abl e fac t s gi vi ng
. . . r eas on t o bel i eve that th e perform ance of s uch fun ct i on s and exerci se of such pow ers is r eas onabl e t o pr ot ectagai ns t phy s i cal damage or i nj ur y , or t hr eat s of phy s i cal damage or i nj ury , to [N SA ] i ns t al l at i ons , pr oper t y , or empl oy ees
. ” Id ., § 1 1 (a )( 2 ).
T he ext ens i on of t he off i cer s ’ aut hor i t ybey ond N SA fac i l i t i es w a s in ten d e d to a llo w th e m to f u n c tio n a s f

e d e ra l p o lice “ w ith a ll a tten d a n t au th o rities , ca p a b ili ties , im m u n iti e s, a n d liabi l i t i e s” w ith in t he 500- footp e r i me t e rf

o raut hor i zed purpos es ; i t w as not envi s i oned as a gen eral gr antof pol i ce a ut hor i t y
. H

. R

. C onf. R ep. N o. 328, 1 0 7 C o n g ., 1 S e s s . 2 7 (2 0 0 1 ), re p rin tedin 2001 U

. S. C ode C ong. th st & A d m in . N e w s a t 1 2 2 7 -2 8

.

II Appl i c a bi l i t y o f

Law Enf

o r c e men t Aut ho r i t y und er M aryl and S t at ut es Y ou as ked w het herN SA pol i ce of fi cer s ar e cove r ed under cer t ai n M ar y l and s t atut es t hatconfe r var i ous pow er s on l aw enfor cement offi cer s – s peci fi cal l y , C P §§2- 101 t hr ough 2- 104 and § § 2 -2 0 1 th ro u g h 2 -2 0 5

. A l l but one of t hes e pr ovi s i ons conce r n pow er s of a “ pol i ce o f f ice r” a s d e f

in e d in th e sta tu te. In p a rticu lar , C P § 2 -1 0 2 d e a ls w i t h, among ot hert hi ngs , t he author i t yof a pol i ce of fi cert o engage i n l aw enfor cement act i vi t i es unders peci fi ed ci r cumst ance s t hr oughout t he St at e; C P §2- 103 addr es s es t he aut hor i t y of a pol i ceG en. 92] 95

Th e statut e re a ds : 5 "Police of

fice r" means a person who in an off icial capa city is authorized by

law to make a

rre sts and is: (1) a member

of the Department of State Police; (2) a member

of the Police Department of B a l t i m o r eC i ty;

(3 ) a me mbe r o f t

heB a lti mor e City School Poli ce F orce ; (4) a member

of th e poli ce d e p artm e nt , b ur e a

u , o r f o r c e o f a c o unty; (5) a member

of the pol ice depar tment, burea

u, or force of

a municipal corpor ation; (6) a member of the Ma ryland Transit Admi n istration Poli ce F orce , M aryland Port Administration P olice Fo r c e , o rM a ry lan dT r a n s portation Authority Police Force; (7) a membe r of the University of Mary land Pol ic e F orc e or

Mo rg an St ate University

Police Force; (8 ) a sp e c ia l po lic e of

fi c e r wh o is a pp ointe d to e nf

orc e thelaw a

nd ma int a in order on or protec t property of the State or any of its un its ; (9) a member

of the Department of Gene ral Servic es sec urity forc e; (1 0) thesh e ri ff

of a c ounty wh os e us ua l dutie s in c lud e themakin gof arr e sts ; (continued...) offi cert o s er ve an ar r es t w ar r ant anyw her e i n t he St at e; C P §§2- 201 t hr ough 2- 205 addr es s ci r cu m sta nces underw hi ch a pol i ce of fi cer m a ym a k e a w a rr a n tle s s a rr e s t.
T h e sc o p e o f e ac h o f th ese p rov isi o n s is li m it ed b ythe s tatu tory defi ni t i on of “pol i ce of

fi cer
. ” That defi ni t i on, w hi ch enc om pas s es m ember s of an ext ens i ve l i s t of l aw enfor cement agenc i es , does not i ncl ude mem ber s of t he N SA Pol i ce. C P §2- 101( c)

. T hus , none of 59 6 [9 0 O p
. A tt ’y

(...continued) 5 (1 1) a

re gula rl y employe d d e puty sheriff of a c ounty who is compensate d by the county and whose usual duties include themakin gof

arr e sts ; (12) a me mber of

the Natur al Resource s Poli ce F orce of the Depa rtment of Natura l Re so urc e s; (13) an authorized employee of the Field E n fo rc em ent Division of the Comptroller' s Offic e; ( 1 4 ) a member of the M aryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission P ark Police; (15) a member

of the Housing Authority of B altimore City

Police Force; (16) a member

of the Crofton Police Depa rtme nt; (17) a member of the WMATA Metro Tra

nsit P olice, subjec t to the jurisdic tio na l li mit atio ns un de r Art ic le XVI , §76 of the Washington Metropolitan Ar e a Tr ans it Auth ority Com

pa c t, whic h is codified at §10-204 of the Tr ansportation Article; ( 1 8 ) a me mb e r

o f th e Inte r

nal Inv e sti g ativ e Un it o f t

heDepa rtme nt; (1 9) a me mbe r o f t

heState F or e st and P ark Ser

vice Police F orceof the Depa rtme nt o f N atura l Re so urc e s; (20) a member

of the Department of L ab or, L icensing , and Regulation Poli ce Force; or (21) a membe r of the Washington Suburban Sanitary

Commi ssion Pol ice Force. Thereareconflictingviews in the fe dera l courts as to whe ther 6 fe d e r a l o f f i c e r s m ay i nv e s t i g at e v i o l at i o n s o f

s t at e l awb a s e d

o na s tate (continued...) th e s e s ta tu to ry p ro v is io n s a p p lie s d ir e c tly to N S A o f f ic e rs
. T he o n e s t a t u t o r y p r o v i s i o n y o u h a v e i d e n t i f i e d t h a t i s not l i m i t ed t o a “pol i ce of

fi cer ” – C P § 2

- 104 – confe r s aut hor i t yon “fe der al l aw enfor cement offi cer s
. ” T hi s s t atut e author i zes fede r al 6G en. 92] 97

(...continued) 6 law purporting to grant them that authority

. Se eUn ite d S tates v . Elli

s , 326 F.3d 593, 596-98 (4 Cir.), cert. de nied, 540 U. S. 9 07 (2 00 3) . T heF ourt h th C i rc u i th as s u gges t edth ata s t atu t e auth o ri z i n g, rath er th anre qu i ri n g, action by fede ral off

icer s would be constitutional. Id . at 598.
“Emerg ency” is define d as “a sudden o r unexpected happe ning 7 or an unf or e se e n c omb inatio n o f c ir c ums tanc e s th at c a lls fo r i mme diate action to protec t the health, safety , welfa re, or proper ty of a pe rson from actua l or threatened ha

rm or from an unlawf

ul act.” CP §2-101(b)

. law e n f o rc e m e n t o f

f ice rs, i n s p e c if

ied c irc u m sta n c e s, to e x e c u te ar r es t an d sear ch and s ei zur e w ar r ant s i s s ued underM ar y l and l aw and t o m ake w ar r ant l es s ar r es t s underT i t l e 2, Subt i tl e 2 of t he C ri m in a l P ro c e d u re A rt ic le . C P § 2 -1 0 4 (b )( 1 ).
T he author i t ygr ant ed underC P §2- 104 appl i es onl yw hen t he f e d e ra l o f f ice r is: (1 ) p a rticip a tin g in a jo in t in v e stig a tio n w ith S tate or l ocal l aw enfor cement offi ci al s , ( 2) r ender i ng as s i s t ance t o a p o li ce o ff

i cer , ( 3) act i ng att he r eques t of a St at e Pol i ce of fi ceror l ocal pol i ce of

fi cer , or ( 4) act ing i n an “e m er gency ”. C P §2- 7 104( b) ( 2)

. T he s t atut e r equi r es t he fede r al offi cer t o gi ve not i ce of an i nves t i gat i on or enfor cement act i on t o cer t ai n St at e orl ocal offi ci al s and addr es s es t he fe der al o ff icer ’ s l egal s t atus and i m m u n i t y p r o t e c t i o n , a s w e l l a s S t a t e a n d l o c a l g o v e r n m e n t l i a b i l i t y. C P § 2 -10 4 (c)-(e).
C P §2- 104 w as appar ent l y des i gned t o fac i l i t at e t he abi l i t yof fede r al and St at e l aw enfor cement offi cer s t o w or k t oget heri n ar eas w h e re th e ysh a re ju risd ictio n , b ye lim in a tin g c e rta in liab ili ty conce r ns
. D ocument at i on i n t he l egi s l at i ve fi l e of the bi l l t hat enac t ed t he pr edec es s or of C P §2- 104 expl ai ned:

O ft en a f

eder al offi ceri s w or ki ng al ong w i t h a st at e off

i cer , and t he s i t uat i on ar i s es w her e off

i cer s need t o m ake a n ar r es t

. U nder pr es entl aw , t he fe der al offi cerm us t s t and by hel pl es s l y , forfea r of l at erbei ng s ued byt he ar r es t ee.9 8 [9 0 O p
. A tt ’y

Hous e Bill 854 (1982) was e nacte d as Chapter 864, L aws of 8 Maryland 1982, addingformer Article 27, §594B (g ) – provisions now codified, a s amende d, at CP §2-104. L egi s l at i ve hi s t or yfi l e, H ous e B i l l 854 ( 1982)

. I t i s t hus appar ent 8 t hatt he purpos e w as t o confe r aut hori ty o n fede r al offi cer s t o t he e x ten t th e ya re e n g a g e d in c o o p e ra tiv e law e n f o rc e m e n t ef

f o rts w ith S t at e and l ocal offi cers
. W het herC P §2- 104 appl i es t o an N SA pol i ce of fi cerdepends on w het hert hatoffi ce r qual i fi es as a “f eder al l aw enfor cement offi cer
. ” For purposes of t hi s s t atut e, a “f eder al l aw enfor cement off i cer” i s defi ned as:

a n o f f i c e r w h o m a y: (1 ) m a k e a n a rre st w ith o r w ith o u t a w ar r antforvi ol at i ons o f t he U ni t ed St at es C ode; and ( 2) carr y fi r ear m s i n t he per for m ance of t he o ffi cer’ s duti es. C P § 2 -1 0 4 (a ).
N S A o f f ice rs m a ym a k e c e rta in a rre sts a n d c a rry f ire a rm s in t he per for m an ce of t hei r dut i es , but t hataut hor i t yi s l i m i t ed geo graphical l yt o N S A faci l i t i es and a reas w i t hin 500 feet of those faci l i t i es. In aut ho ri zi ng a separat e N S A po l i ce fo rce, C on gress ant ici pat ed t hatt he N SA pol i ce w oul d ent eri nt o cooper at i ve ar r angement s w i t h ot herpol i ce a genci es t hats har ed conc ur r ent j ur i s di c t i on w i t hi n t he 5 00

- fo otpe r i met e r s ur r ou nd i ng a n NSA f a c ility. See H. R. Con f

. Re p
. No. 3 2 8 , 1 0 7 Con g
. , 1 Ses s
. 27 th st (20 0 1 ). A s n o ted u n d er P art I of this o p inion , the N S A p o li ce w ere n o t i n t e n d e d t o s e r v e a s a g e n e r a l f e d e r a l l a w e n f

o r c e m e n t a g e n c y. G iven the territ o ri al l im it ati o n s o n an N S A o ff ic e r’s p o w ers underfede r al l aw t o m ake a r r es t s or carr yfi r ear m s , i t i s our vi ew t hatan N SA offi cerfal l s w i t hi n t he def i ni t i on o f “f

ed era l l aw enfor cement offi cer ” onl yw hen t h e o ff ic eri s act i ng w i t hi n t he t er r i t or i al j ur i s di ct i on of t he N SA pol i ce – i

. e. , w i t hi n a n NSAG en. 92] 99

This conclusio n d o es not mean that an N SA office r would be 9 considere d a fe dera l l aw e nforc ement off icer or off icial in a diffe rent context. Seeletter of advice from Assistant Attorney Gene ral Rober

t A. Z arn oc h to De le g ate Kevin Kel ly (Jun e 23 , 2 00 3) (g ive n N SA o ff ic e rs ’ l i m i t edjurisdiction, they

do not qualify

for e x emption applicable to law enforceme nt officials of theUnited States under Ma ryland’s handgun reg istration statute). fac i l i t yor w i t hi n t he 500-f oot ar ea a r ound fac i l i t y
. T hi s concl us i on 9 is co n sist en t w ith the c o n g ression al i n tent n o t t o g ran t N S A o ff icers gener al poli ce a ut hor i t y
. I t i s al s o cons i s t entw i t h t he l egi s l at i ve purpos e under l y i ng C P §2- 104, t o fac i l i t at e coo p erat i ve arr ang em ents betw een S t at e and fede ral off i cers w ho are ot herw i se act i ng w i t hin t heirres pecti ve jur i sdi ct i on s. III
C ri m es W i t nes s ed O ut s i de N SA O f f i cer Juri s di ct i on Y ou al s o as ked w hatact i on an N S A o ff ic erm i ght t ake w hen a cr i m e i s comm i t t ed i n the offi cer ’ s pr es ence out s i de t he juri sd ict ion o f th e N S A p o li ce
. In th o se c ir cu m stan ce s, the o ff icer’s a u th o ri ty is th e s a m e a s th a t o f a p ri v a te c itiz e n
. S tev e n so n v . S ta te , 2 8 7 M d . 5 0 4 , 5 0 9 -1 0 , 4 1 3 A .2 d 1 3 4 0 (1 9 8 0 ); s ee al s o 6A C

. J

. S. A rres t§ 1 1 (20 0 4 ) (fed era l o ff ici als su ch as c u stom s ag en ts, tr ea su ry offi ci al s , nar cot i cs agent s , FB I agent s , i nt er nal r evenue agent s , and pos t al i ns pect or s aut hor i zed t o m ake c i t i zen a r r es t s i n ci r cumst ance s w h ere su ch arrests are p erm issi b le).
U nder M ar y l and l aw , t he aut hor i t y of a pr i vat e ci t i zen t o m ake an ar r es t w i t hout a w ar r antvar i es bas ed on t he natur e of the cr i m e. If th e c rim e is a f

e lo n y , a c iti z e n c a n m a k e a n a rre st i f th e f e lo n yis bei ng comm it ted in t he ci t i zen’ s pr es ence orw h e n a f e lo n yh a s in fac t been c om m i t t ed, w het heror not i n t he ci ti ze n ’s pr es ence , and t he ci t i zen maki ng t he arr es t has pr obabl e ca us e t o bel i eve the per s on a r re s te d h a s c o m m itte d th e f e lo n y
. St eve ns on , 2 8 7 M d

. at 51 3

. If t he cr i m e i s a mi s demeanor , a ci t i zen c an make an arr es t i f t he mi s d e me a n o r i s c o mm i t t e d i n t h e c i t i z e n ’ s p r e s e n c e o r v i e w and t he c ri m e a m o u n ts to a b re a c h o f th e p e a c e
. I

d.
M ary l and l aw perm i t s an N S A off i cer t o m ake a c i t i zen’s ar res t out s i de t he off

i cer ’ s j ur i s di ct i on. H ow ev er, a n offi cerw oul d have n o o ff ici al i m m u n ityfro m li ab il ityf o r s u c h an ac ti o n
. M o reo v er, N S A m a yh a v e p o licie s tha t g o v e rn w h e th e r o f f ice rs m a ye n g a g e in1 0 0 [9 0 O p
. A tt ’y law e n f o rc e m e n t ac tiv iti e s o u tsid e th e sc o p e o f th e ir e m p lo ym e n t, i ncl udi ng m aki ng ci t i zen’ s ar r es t s
. W e m us t , of cour s e, defe r t o t he a g e n c y c o n c e r n i n g t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f a n y s u c h p o l i c y. IV
C oncl usi on It is o u r o p in io n th a t: ( 1) M os t of t hes e M ar y l and s t atut or yprov isi ons confe r r i ng pow er s on pol i ce of

fi cers d o n o t a ppl ydi r ect l yt o an N SA offi cer beca us e an N SA o ff

icer i s not a “pol i ce of

fi cer ” as defi ned i n t he C r i m i nal Pr ocedur e A r t i cl e. C ert ai n pr ovi s i ons appl i cabl e t o a “fe der al l aw enfor cement offi cer ” w oul d appl yt o an N SA offi cer act i ng w i t hi n t he t er r i t or i al j ur i s di ct i on of t he N SA pol i ce. (2) U n d er M ary land law , an N S A o ff icer m ay m ak e a cit izen ’s ar r es t , i f t he offi cer w i t nes s es cer t ai n cr i m es out s i d e the t er r i t or i al j ur i s di ct i on of t he N SA pol i ce.

J. Jo sep h C u rran , Jr. A t t or ney G ener al
W i l l i am R

. V ar ga A ss i s t a n t Att o r n e yGen eral
R o b e rt N . M c D o n a ld C hi ef C ouns el O pi ni ons and A dvi ce