2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 24 - GOVERNMENT - STATE (§§ 24-1-101 — 24-116-102) › PRINCIPAL DEPARTMENTS (§§ 24-30-101 — 24-36-306) › Article 33.5 - Public Safety (§§ 24-33.5-101 — 24-33.5-2704) › Part 2 - COLORADO STATE PATROL (§§ 24-33.5-201 — 24-33.5-230) › Section 24-33.5-212 - Powers and duties of officers

(1)
All officers of the Colorado state patrol have all the powers of any peace officer to:
(a)
(I)
Make arrest upon view and with or without warrant for any violation of any law of this state regulating the operation of vehicles and use of the highways or concerning motor vehicle registration; motor fuel tax laws; public utility laws, rules, and regulations, insofar as they pertain to motor carriers as defined in section
42-4-235
, C.R.S.; the inspection laws of this state; and any criminal law of this state if, during an officer's exercise of powers or performance of duties under this section, probable cause is established that a violation of said criminal law has occurred;
(II)
Enforce the automobile theft law, article
5
of title
42
, C.R.S.;
(III)
Inspect, examine, investigate, impound, or hold any vehicle for violation of said laws of this state;
(b)
Require the operator of any vehicle to stop and, upon demand, exhibit his driver's license and registration card issued for such vehicle and submit to a complete inspection of such vehicle and the equipment, interior, cargo, license plates, and any other paper or document required by law to be in his possession or to an inspection and test of the equipment of such vehicle when there is reasonable cause to believe that the vehicle is being operated in violation of any law of this state regulating the operation of vehicles or use of the highways or any other law mentioned in this part 2;
(c)
Inspect any vehicle of a type required to be registered or licensed under a provision of law in any public place where such vehicles are held for sale or wrecking for the purpose of locating stolen vehicles, or parts thereof, and investigate the title and registration thereof;
(d)
Serve all warrants, notices, summonses, or other processes relating to the enforcement of laws regulating the operation of the vehicles or the use of the highways and serve distraint warrants issued by the public utilities commission or department of revenue of the state of Colorado;
(e)
Investigate traffic accidents and make reports thereof to the chief and make such reports to the department of transportation and department of revenue as these departments may require, but the reports required to be made to the chief in this paragraph (e) shall not be public records and shall be for the confidential use of the Colorado state patrol;
(f)
Direct, control, and regulate all traffic at any intersection or any portion of streets or highways or elsewhere in this state when it is deemed necessary in the interest of public safety and for the safe and speedy movement of persons and property;
(g)
Investigate reported thefts of vehicles, motor vehicles, trailers, and semitrailers and take and hold any stolen vehicles or parts thereof discovered in any such investigation;
(h)
Stop any truck, automobile, or other vehicle found carrying or suspected of carrying any kind of livestock or poultry or the carcasses thereof or any hides of cattle for the purpose of examining and checking said load for permits, written statements, or livestock inspectors' certificates and make arrest for any violation of the law in this state relating to livestock theft and the transportation thereof. At the request of the state board of stock inspection commissioners, the Colorado state patrol shall cooperate with said board in the enforcement of any law within the jurisdiction of said state board of stock inspection commissioners or any rule or regulation issued by said board.
(i)
Enforce all of the laws of this state with respect to grounds and buildings owned by the state or any agency or institution thereof. Such enforcement shall not supersede the jurisdiction of the sheriff or other peace officers of the county, city, or city and county within which such enforcement may be required but shall be in addition thereto. In any such activity, officers have and are hereby granted all powers of sheriffs and other peace officers.
(2)
The powers specified in subsection (1) of this section are vested in the chief and every officer of the Colorado state patrol, and it is their primary duty to promote safety, protect human life, and preserve the highways of this state by the courteous and strict enforcement of the laws and regulations of this state relating to highways and the traffic on such highways and all other laws of this state concerning inspection, registration, and regulation of all vehicles and the cargoes transported therein and to assist other state departments in the collection of motor vehicle license fees and taxes, motor fuel taxes, and highway compensation taxes.
(3)
The chief and all the officers appointed under the provisions of this part 2, subject to the exceptions stated in this subsection (3), shall not be used at any time, nor under any circumstances, by any authority of the state in any manner in the enforcement of any law other than that specifically provided in this part 2 or as may be otherwise specifically provided in any other law of this state; except that they are empowered to assist or aid any sheriff or other peace officer in the performance of his duties upon his request or the request of other local officials having jurisdiction, and, on such occasions while so acting, they have the powers of any sheriff or other peace officer. Furthermore, they shall not be deputized as deputy sheriffs or as other peace officers by any local or state authority, nor shall they be permitted to serve or act on strike duty, lockouts, or other labor disputes.
(4)
The highway users tax fund, created in section
43-4-201
, C.R.S., shall be reimbursed out of the general fund or the governor's contingency fund or from any other appropriation for the purpose for all expenses of the Colorado state patrol incurred pursuant to paragraph (i) of subsection (1) and subsection (3) of this section.
L. 83: Entire article added, p. 923, § 1, effective 7/1/1984. L. 88: (1)(a)(I), (1)(i), and (3) amended, p. 919, § 2, effective July 1. L. 91: (1)(e) amended, p. 1060, § 20, effective July 1. L. 2011: (1)(a)(I) amended, (HB 11 - 11 98), ch. 127, p. 418, § 9, effective August 10.