Okla. Stat. tit. 47, § 47-2-117

enforcement authority on National System of Interstate and Defense

Highways - Special traffic-related enforcement in municipalities.

A. The Commissioner of Public Safety and each officer of the

Department of Public Safety, as designated and commissioned by the

Commissioner, are hereby declared to be peace officers of this state

and shall be so deemed and taken in all courts having jurisdiction

of offenses against the laws of the state. Such officers shall have

the powers and authority now and hereafter vested by law in other

peace officers, including the right and power of search and seizure,

except the serving or execution of civil process, and the right and

power to investigate and prevent crime and to enforce the criminal

laws of this state.

B. In addition to the powers and authority prescribed in

subsection A of this section, the officers of the Department shall

have the following authority, responsibilities, powers, and duties:

1. To enforce the provisions of this title and any other law

regulating the operation of vehicles or the use of the highways or

the use of roads located on lands owned by a state beneficiary

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public trust, including any laws of this state by the direction of

the Governor;

2. To arrest without writ, rule, order, or process any person

detected by them in the act of violating any law of the state;

3. When the officer is in pursuit of a violator or suspected

violator and is unable to arrest such violator or suspected violator

within the limits of the jurisdiction of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol

Division, to continue in pursuit of such violator or suspected

violator into whatever part of the state may be reasonably necessary

to effect the apprehension and arrest of the same, and to arrest

such violator or suspected violator wherever the violator may be

overtaken;

4. To assist in the location of stolen property, including

livestock and poultry or the carcasses thereof, and to make any

inspection necessary of any truck, trailer, or contents thereof in

connection therewith;

5. At all times to direct all traffic in conformance with law

and, in the event of a fire or other emergency, to expedite traffic,

or to insure safety, to direct traffic as conditions may require,

notwithstanding the provisions of law;

6. To require satisfactory proof of ownership of the contents

of any motor vehicle, including livestock, poultry, or the carcasses

thereof. In the event that the proof of ownership is not

satisfactory, it shall be the duty of the officer to take the motor

vehicle, driver, and the contents of the motor vehicle into custody

and deliver the same to the sheriff of the county wherein the cargo,

motor vehicle, and driver are taken into custody;

7. When on duty, upon reasonable belief that any vehicle is

being operated in violation of any provisions of this title, or any

other law regulating the operation of vehicles, to require the

driver thereof to stop and exhibit his or her driver license and the

certificate of registration issued for the vehicle, if required to

be carried in the vehicle pursuant to the provisions of Section 1113

of this title, and submit to an inspection of such vehicle, the

license plates, and certificate of registration, if applicable, or

to any inspection and test of the equipment of such vehicle;

8. To inspect any vehicle of a type required to be registered

hereunder in any public garage or repair shop or in any place where

such vehicles are held for sale or wrecking, for the purpose of

locating stolen vehicles and investigating the title and

registration thereof;

9. To serve all warrants relating to the enforcement of the

laws regulating the operation of vehicles or the use of the highways

and bench warrants issued for nonpayment of fines and costs for

moving traffic violations;

10. To investigate and report traffic collisions on all
r sale or wrecking, for the purpose of

locating stolen vehicles and investigating the title and

registration thereof;

9. To serve all warrants relating to the enforcement of the

laws regulating the operation of vehicles or the use of the highways

and bench warrants issued for nonpayment of fines and costs for

moving traffic violations;

10. To investigate and report traffic collisions on all

interstate and defense highways and on all highways outside of

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incorporated municipalities, and may investigate traffic collisions

within any incorporated municipality upon request of the local law

enforcement agency, and to secure testimony of witnesses or of

persons involved;

11. To investigate reported thefts of motor vehicles, trailers,

and semitrailers;

12. To stop and inspect any motor vehicle or trailer for such

mechanical tests as may be prescribed by the Commissioner to

determine the roadworthiness of the vehicle. Any vehicle which may

be found to be unsafe for use on the highways may be ordered removed

from the highway until such alterations or repairs have been made

that will render the vehicle serviceable for use on the highway;

13. To stop and inspect the contents of all motor vehicles to

ascertain whether or not the provisions of all general laws are

being observed;

14. To enforce the laws of the state relating to the

registration and licensing of motor vehicles;

15. To enforce the laws relating to the operation and use of

vehicles on the highway;

16. To enforce and prevent, on the roads of the state highway

system, the violation of the laws relating to the size, weight, and

speed of commercial motor vehicles and all laws designed for the

protection of the highway pavements and structures on such highways;

17. To investigate and report to the Corporation Commission and

the Oklahoma Tax Commission any violation of their rules and the

laws governing the transportation of persons and property by motor

transportation companies and all other motor carriers for hire;

18. To investigate and report violations of all laws relating

to the collection of excise taxes on motor vehicle fuels;

19. To regulate the movement of traffic on the roads of the

state highway system;

20. Whenever possible, to determine persons causing or

responsible for the breaking, damaging, or destruction of any

improved surfaced roadway, structure, sign, marker, guardrail, or

any other appurtenance constructed or maintained by the Department

of Transportation, and to arrest persons responsible and to bring

them before the proper officials for prosecution;

21. To investigate incidents involving an employee of the

Department of Public Safety, when such incidents are related to the

performance of the duties of the employee; and

22. To initiate or assist in manhunts and fugitive

apprehensions.

C. Whenever any person is arrested by a patrol officer for a

traffic violation, the provisions of Sections 16-101 through 16-114

of this title shall apply.

D. 1. Except as provided in this subsection, the powers and

duties conferred on the Commissioner and officers of the Department

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of Public Safety shall not limit the powers and duties of sheriffs

or other peace officers of the state or any political subdivision of

the state.

2. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division shall have primary law

enforcement authority respecting traffic-related offenses upon the

National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, and may have

special law enforcement authority on those portions of the federal-

aid primary highways and the state highway system which are located

within the boundaries and on the outskirts of a municipality, and

designated by the Commissioner of Public Safety for such special law

enforcement authority. As used in this subsection, “outskirts of a
l System of Interstate and Defense Highways, and may have

special law enforcement authority on those portions of the federal-

aid primary highways and the state highway system which are located

within the boundaries and on the outskirts of a municipality, and

designated by the Commissioner of Public Safety for such special law

enforcement authority. As used in this subsection, “outskirts of a

municipality” means and shall be determined by presence of the

following factors:

a. low land use density,

b. absence of any school or residential subdivision

requiring direct ingress or egress from the highway,

and

c. a scarcity of retail or commercial business abutting

the highway.

3. The Commissioner may designate any portion of the National

System of Interstate and Defense Highways, and those portions of the

federal-aid primary highways and the state highway system which are

located within the boundaries of and on the outskirts of a

municipality, for special traffic-related enforcement by the

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division and issue a written notice to any

other law enforcement agency affected thereby. Upon receipt of such

notice, the affected law enforcement agency shall not regulate

traffic nor enforce traffic-related statutes or ordinances upon such

designated portion of the National System of Interstate and Defense

Highways or such designated portions of the federal-aid primary

highways and the state highway system without prior coordination and

written approval of the Commissioner.

E. 1. Any of the following persons may request the

Commissioner to investigate the traffic-related enforcement

practices of a municipal law enforcement agency whose jurisdiction

includes portions of the federal-aid primary highways, the state

highway system, or both located within the boundaries of or on the

outskirts of the municipality:

a. the district attorney in whose jurisdiction the

municipality is located,

b. a majority of the county commissioners, by resolution,

of the county in which the municipality is located,

c. the State Auditor and Inspector,

d. the Attorney General, or

e. a state legislator in whose district the municipality

is located.

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2. The request shall state that the requesting party believes

the enforcement practices are being conducted:

a. within the boundaries of or on the outskirts of the

municipality, and

b. for the purpose of generating more than fifty percent

(50%) of the revenue needed for the operation of the

municipality.

3. Upon receipt of a request pursuant to this subsection, the

Commissioner may investigate the traffic-related enforcement

practices of the municipal law enforcement agency and the receipts

and expenditures of the municipality. The law enforcement agency,

the municipality, and the requesting party shall cooperate fully

with the Commissioner in such an investigation. Upon the completion

of the investigation, the Commissioner shall submit a report of the

results of the investigation to the Attorney General, who shall make

a determination within sixty (60) days of receipt of the report as

to whether the enforcement practices of the municipal law

enforcement agency are being conducted as provided in subparagraphs

a and b of paragraph 2 of this subsection. Upon a determination

that the enforcement practices are not being conducted in such a

manner, the Attorney General shall notify the Commissioner in

writing, and the Commissioner shall take no action to make a

designation as provided in paragraph 3 of subsection D of this

section. Upon a determination that the enforcement practices are

being conducted as provided in subparagraphs a and b of paragraph 2

of this subsection, the Attorney General shall notify the

Commissioner in writing, and the Commissioner shall make the

designation of special traffic-related enforcement as provided in
ion to make a

designation as provided in paragraph 3 of subsection D of this

section. Upon a determination that the enforcement practices are

being conducted as provided in subparagraphs a and b of paragraph 2

of this subsection, the Attorney General shall notify the

Commissioner in writing, and the Commissioner shall make the

designation of special traffic-related enforcement as provided in

paragraph 3 of subsection D of this section, which shall stay in

force for such time as determined by the Commissioner. The

Department of Public Safety shall adopt rules to uniformly implement

the procedures for initiating, investigating, and reporting to the

Attorney General the results of a request under the provisions of

this subsection and the criteria for determining the length of time

the designation of special traffic-related enforcement shall be in

force.

F. Nothing in this section shall limit a member of the Oklahoma

Highway Patrol Division from requesting assistance from any other

law enforcement agency nor limit officers of such agency from

rendering the requested assistance. The officer and the law

enforcement agency responding to the request of the member of the

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division or sheriff’s department shall have

the same rights and immunities as are possessed by the Oklahoma

Highway Patrol Division.

G. No state official shall have any power, right, or authority

to command, order, or direct any commissioned law enforcement

officer of the Department of Public Safety to perform any duty or

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service contrary to the provisions of this title or any other laws

of this state.