Court Opinion

ID: 9778781
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 21:20:19.671663+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:33:13.101286
License: Public Domain

John I. Purtle, Justice, dissenting. The same people who voted to retain Lord Mansfield’s antiquated rule have now brought you this opinion approving the medieval practice of allowing private persons to hire private armies. No doubt the feudal barons were satisfied with a system that allowed them to hire their own police enforcement officials, or private armies, as they were called. The Constitutions of the United States and the state of Arkansas do not provide for private armies, and such armed bands have never been recognized as valid until this time. The General Assembly has passed some more special legislation which could be interpreted as granting property owners associations the privilege of hiring their own sheriffs. If property owners associations are authorized to hire private law enforcement officials to enforce state laws and the by-laws of their associations, then there is no reason why any individual who can afford it should not be allowed the same privilege. Such an arrangement permits several sets of de facto deputies to operate within the same county, in addition to the actual sheriff and his oath-bound deputies. This simply cannot be the law. The Constitution of Arkansas, article 7, section 46, reads in part: The qualified electors of each county shall elect one sheriff Amendment No. 55, section 6, provides: All County Officers shall be bonded as provided by law. Ark. Code Ann. § 21-2-114 (1987) provides: Each public official or employee of this state, or political subdivision thereof, who has appointed deputies or employed individuals who handle any funds for the performance of their duties shall bond the deputies and employees in those amounts which he deems necessary to indemnify the state or political subdivision for any loss or mishandling of funds by the deputies or employees. Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-1201(e) (1987) provides: The county judge of each county shall purchase all surety bonds for county and township officers, and employees thereof, in the amounts fixed by ordinance of the county quorum court pursuant to the purchasing laws governing county government. A bond may cover an individual officer or employee, or a blanket bond may cover all officers and employees, or any group or combination of officers and employees. Section (g) of the same Code provision requires that all official bonds must be signed and executed by the county court of each county and one or more surety companies licensed to do business in the state. In State ex rel. Dingess v. Scaggs, 195 S.E.2d 724 (W.Va. 1973), it was said: “Taking the oath of office and posting bond are the two necessary preparatory acts to qualify for office.” If these security guards are ever to qualify as deputies, they must follow the provisions of the law. If they are county officers or employees, they must be bonded. A county employee is defined under the Code as “any individual or firm providing labor or services to a county for salary or any other form of compensation.” So far as I am able to determine from the record, these security guards for Bella Vista Village, a private corporation, have not qualified as county employees. Certainly the sheriff did not see fit to include them under his bond or any other bond. Since “all county officers shall be bonded as required by law” these persons do not qualify as officers of the county pursuant to Amendment 55, Section 6, of the Constitution of Arkansas. They have the same law enforcement rights, duties, and responsibilities as other security guards and private citizens. I agree with the appellant that these persons are employees of the Property Owners Association of Bella Vista Village in Benton County, Arkansas. They have not qualified as deputies or special deputies, and they are not bonded as required by law. Nor have they qualified as auxiliary officers pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 12-9-301 (1987). The statute under which they apparently believe they are operating is Ark. Code Ann. § 14-15-503 (1987). This law provides that every deputy sheriff appointed under the provisions of the act shall possess all the powers of his principal and may perform any of the duties required by law to be performed by the sheriff. The “deputy sheriffs” in this case were employed by the Property Owners Association of Bella Vista. They were not employed by the sheriff, and he either does not consider them deputies as such or he is violating the law by not posting bonds for them. They are receiving no benefits from the county. No doubt the surety bonding company will be interested in finding out that these people are actually deputy sheriffs. The act provides that these “deputy sheriffs” may be allowed to exercise their powers as deputy sheriffs while in the course of their employment for Bella Vista, but nowhere else in the county. If this is the intention of the legislation, then it is unconstitutional. On the other hand, the legislation makes perfectly good sense if it is intended to allow legal deputy sheriffs to moonlight for private individuals and property owners associations. In such cases, the moonlighters would actually be deputies and not mere pretenders. A deputy sheriff is in reality the alter ego of the sheriff. He possesses all of the powers of the sheriff — except the power to appoint deputies. See Tanner v. McCall, 625 F.2d 1183 (5th Cir. 1980). The appellees in this case have no more right to special application of the law than do grocery stores and other retail establishments or manufacturing concerns. Up until this time, such organizations or institutions have merely hired regular police officers or sheriffs’ deputies during their off-duty time. However, if I understand the ruling in this case, they may now hire anybody they please and clothe them will all the powers and authority of deputy sheriffs, provided the sheriffs will give them honorary deputies’ titles. Suppose Wal-Mart’s private army decides to overthrow K-Mart’s private army? On which side will the real sheriff and his deputies fight? In the event of resulting damage, which sheriffs surety will pay for the damages?