United States Park Police

The **United States Park Police** (**USPP**) is the oldest uniformed federal law enforcement agencies in the United States. It functions as a full-service law enforcement agency with responsibilities and jurisdiction in those National Park Service areas primarily located in the Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and New York City areas and certain other government lands. United States Park Police officers have jurisdictional authority in the surrounding metropolitan areas of the three cities it primarily operates in, meaning they possess both state and federal authority. In addition to performing the normal crime prevention, investigation, and apprehension functions of an urban police force, the Park Police are responsible for policing many of the famous monuments in the United States.

The USPP shares law enforcement jurisdiction in all lands administered by the National Park Service with a force of National Park Service Law Enforcement Rangers tasked with the same law enforcement powers and responsibilities. The agency also provides protection for the President, Secretary of the Interior, and visiting dignitaries. The Park Police is an operation of the National Park Service, which is an agency of the Department of the Interior. As of April 8, 2022, the force consisted of 494 officers.

## History

The **Park Watchmen** were first recruited in 1791 by George Washington to protect federal property in the District of Columbia. The police functioned as an independent agency of the federal government until 1849, when it was placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. In 1867, Congress transferred the police to the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds, under the supervision of the Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers. The Watchmen were given the same powers and duties as the Metropolitan Police of Washington in 1882. Their name was officially changed to the present United States Park Police in 1919. In 1925, Congress placed the Park Police in the newly created Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital. Headed by an Army officer, Lt. Col. Ulysses S. Grant III, the office reported directly to the President of the United States. In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt transferred the police to the National Park Service.

Their authority first began to expand outside D.C. in 1929, and today they are primarily responsible for the Gateway National Recreation Area units in New York City-New Jersey and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco, as well as the many designated areas in Washington D.C. and the neighboring counties in Maryland and Virginia. These sites include the National Mall, the C&O Canal towpath in the region, and the parallel roadways of the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Virginia and Clara Barton Parkway in Maryland, as well as the federally maintained segment of the Baltimore Washington Parkway in Maryland.

## Authority

The force functions as a unit of the National Park Service with jurisdiction in all federal parks. U.S. Park Police officers are located in the Washington, DC, New York City, and San Francisco metropolitan areas, and investigate and detain persons suspected of committing offenses against the United States. Officers also carry out services for many notable events conducted in the national parks. The U.S. Park Police are able to effect an arrest without a warrant in any unit of the National Park System, the District of Columbia, and the environs of the District of Columbia.

Park Police have authority to follow a vehicle outside their jurisdiction if the offense was committed within the park. According to Park Police policy, lethal force can only be used when there is "imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm".

In Virginia, USPP Officers are provided with Conservator of the Peace powers as set forth in 19.2-12 of the Code of Virginia with powers and duties provided under 19.2-18 of the Code of Virginia. In Washington, D.C. itself, USPP Officers have the same powers and duties as the D.C. Metropolitan Police. USPP Officers possess a limited arrest authority in the State of Maryland. The U.S. Park Police hold state arrest authority in New York [New York State CPL 2.15 part 9], and state arrest authority in New Jersey [New Jersey Code 2A:154-6]. In California, arrest powers are provided under California Penal Code Section 830.8. These state arrest powers are in addition to powers held as federal officers. The U.S. Park Police primarily enforce laws including but not limited to Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and other federal statutes such as 16 USC and 18 USC, as well as state and local laws.

### Leadership

In September 2019, Gregory T. Monahan became acting chief of U.S. Park Police. Upon Monahan's appointment, former Chief Robert Maclean was promoted to Interior Department's Office of Law Enforcement and Security.

### Districts

The United States Park Police operates patrol district stations in the New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas.

U.S. Park Police officers are charged with protecting national icons such as the Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, and other well known monuments and memorials. This is accomplished through the Homeland Security Division, which consists of the Intelligence/Counter-Terrorism Unit, the New York field office, and the Icon Protection Branch, which consists of the Central District Station and Special Forces.

### Specialized units

The U.S. Park Police manages a Marine Unit, an Aviation Unit, Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT), a Canine Unit, a Motorcycle Unit, a Special Events Unit, a Traffic Safety Unit, a Horse Mounted Unit and a Criminal Investigations Branch.

#### Aviation

The missions of the United States Park Police Aviation Unit include aviation support for law enforcement, medevac, search and rescue, high-risk prisoner transport and presidential and dignitary security. The Aviation Unit has provided accident-free, professional aviation services for over 40 years. They were the first helicopter provider of Air medical serviceswithin Washington, D.C, and continue to provide these services 24/7 to the district and neighboring jurisdictions. They also provide an invaluable resource for patrolling and performing rescues at the numerous federal parks and recreation areas within the National Capital Region, such as Great Falls Park and Shenandoah National Park. Like many park environments, injured parties in these remote and difficult to access locations require specialized rescue equipment to access and retrieve persons in distress. The US Park Police Aviation Unit is the primary resource for these remote rescues requiring helicopter access.

The Aviation Unit of the United States Park Police began in April 1973 and was placed under the command of Lt. Richard T. Chittick. It started with one Bell 206B JetRanger and a staff of three pilots and three rescue technicians based at the Anacostia Naval Air Station in a shared space with the MPD Aviation Branch. A second helicopter, a Bell 206B-3 JetRanger, was added in 1975 and the unit relocated to Andrews AFB. The Aviation Unit moved to its present facility in Anacostia Park, the "Eagle's Nest," in 1976. In 1983, the 206B-3 was upgraded to a Bell206L-3 LongRanger. Their first twin-engine helicopter, a Bell 412SP, and the third helicopter to carry the designation "Eagle One," was placed in service in January 1991. The unit grew to its current staff, and began providing 24-hour coverage in January 1994.

In August 1999, the unit took delivery of its second twin-engine helicopter, a Bell 412EP. It became the fourth helicopter in the unit's history to carry the designation "Eagle One" and the same registration number as that of an earlier aircraft whose crew affected the rescue of victims after the crash of Air Florida Flight 90. In May 2016, the unit received a replacement for "Eagle Two" with a used & reconditioned Bell 412EP to replace the aging aircraft delivered in 1991.

The crew of US Park Police Aviation resources are frequently called to assist at significant and historical disasters and emergency incidents throughout the National Capital Region. These incidents include the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon, the D.C. sniper attacks throughout the region, the crashing of Air Florida Flight 90, and the Washington Navy Yard shooting in 2013. During the Congressional baseball shooting, the crews of U.S. Park Police Aviation responded with two helicopters and transported Congressman Steve Scalise and a U.S. Capitol Police Officer to the trauma center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center