Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-06
MARYLAND LIQUOR
ARRESTS BY D. c.
POLICE ILLEGAL
u. S. Commissioners Deci-
sion May Open Way to Pros
eCution of Four Officers.
WARRANTS SWORN OUT
BY ACCUSED PAIR
Extradition Papers Demanded if
Assault Charges Are Pressed
in Prince Georges.

The local police this afternoon re-
fused to arrest the four members of
the force charged with assault with
dangerous weapon, as the result Of
liquor case in Maryland. Inspector
H. c. Pratt advised Sheriff Early of
Prince Georges County that the four
would not stand trial in Maryland
without requisition.
Members of the Metropolitan police
force are prohibited from crossing the
Maryland State line to make liquor ar
rests, United States Commissioner
Needham c. Turnage ruled this morn
ing in an opinion that was construed
as opening the way to prosecution of
four members of the local department
who were charged with assault with
dangerous weapon by two men they
took in a dry case several days ago.
The ruling was handed down in the
case of Stephen johnson and Ralph
Harbaugh, picked up on September "a
on Good Hope Hill, just beyond the
District Line, when their automobile
was disabled by losing wheel. The
LIE Roy Bachelor, j. w. ConnorS and
E. w. Gore, reported finding 48O quarts
of liquor in the car.
Turnage also ruled that the search
made of their automobile was illegal
and that the liquor said to have been
taken from the car was not admissible
in evidence. The charges of transport
ing and possession of liquor placed
against the men were, therefore, dis
missed
When the men were brought before
Turnage, charged with illegal trans
portation and possession of liquor, their
attorney, E Russell Kelly, moved that
both charges be dismissed because the
arrest and seizure was illegal, This
raised the question of whether those
members of the Metropolitan Police,
who do not posses the power of revenue
agents, have the right to enforce Fed
eral statutes in Maryland, which Turn
age has been studying ever since. Some
few local officials have this dual au-
thority.
In the meantime, Johnson and Har-
bougll obtained warrants from Justice
of Peace Thomas S. Grif1S Of District
Heights, Md, charging the four po-
licemen with assault with q dangerous
weapon. The warrants were forwarded
to the local police by Deputy Sheriff
A. w. Hepburn of Prince Georges Coun-
ty. They were not served, however,
pending the decision of Commissioner
Turnage. Now, the warrant may be
served and the men forced to make
bond hsre pending requisition hearing,
or they can waive extradition and go
into Maryland for arraignment. It Is
expected eXtradition will be demanded
Opinion Covers Seven Pages.
Turnage's opinion which covers seven
typewriter pages and on which he has
been working for nearly two weeks, goes
into the propositions of arrest and
searches at great length and in 1t he
lays down the hard and fast ruling that
a policeman is without official power
beyond the boundaries of the district IN
which he is appointed. He said:
ut is also regarded as settled law
that policeman, as conservator of
the peace, is without official power to
apprehend offenders beyond the bound
aries of the county or district for
which he hes been appointed. When
such an officer attempts to make IN
arrest beyond his jurisdiction without
a warrant he is considered in law as
having only such authority as private
person would have in apprehending
criminals.
Therefore, and for these reasons, it
must be concluded that as police off,
GERS these policemen were without off,
cial power to arrest, search or seize in
the State of Maryland. When they
undertook to perform these acts in the
State of Maryland their authority and
right was limited to that of any other
private person.
All Persons Bound.
"This involves the further inquiry as
to the legality of the arrest and search
by these officers who were in contempla-
ton of law acting as private persons.
The rule Of the common law is that
every person, whether an officer or not,
who is present at the commission of
felony, is bound by law to arrest the
felon, on pain of fine and imprisonment.
The authority of private person to ar
rest at common law and at the present
time was and Is much more confined
than that of officers.
1.-THE violation charged against these
defendants Is m1Sdemeanor and IN the
case of miSdemeanor a private person
could only arrest when the misdemeanor
was committed in his presence and in
volved breach Of the peace. If these
officers whose official character had ter
minated at the District line, made the
search in question as an incident to an
unlawful arrest, such search would like
wise be unlawful"
Therefore, it must be held that these
officers, acting as private persons, were
without lawful right to arrest in Mary
land, and without right to make the
search and seize the automobile and
liquor"
Turnage further points out that the
officers believed they had the legal right
to act for the Federal Government in
the enforcement of the national prohi-
bition act, but in fact became the COM
plainants in the case.
OF this he says: I'm the matter now
under consideration, 1t must be con-
cluded that these police officers in
making the search in Maryland were
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