Peace officers also have a statutory duty “to preserve the peace within the officer’s jurisdiction.” TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 2.13(a)-(b)(l), (4) (Vernon Supp. 2003). Whenever, in the presence or within the view of a peace officer, “one person is about to commit an offense against the person or property of another,” it is the officer’s duty to prevent it. Id. art. 6.06. “[A] police officer’s ‘off-duty’ status is not a limitation upon the discharge of police authority in the presence of criminal activity.” Wood v. State, 486 S.W.2d 771, 774 (Tex. Crim. App. 1972). A peace officer possesses the full powers of a peace officer in the presence of criminal activity and may take action despite being off-duty. See, e.g., Hafdahl v. State, 805 S.W.2d 396, 401 (Tex. Crim. App. 1990) (en bane) (police officer, driving home after shift ended, was in lawful discharge of his official dutywhen he stopped to investigate scene oftraffic accident), Wood, 486 S.W.2d at 773 (off-duty uniformed police officers directing traffic from private parking lot to street were authorized to make arrest for breach of the peace).
From Texas Attorney General's Opinion GA-0106 (https://www.oag.state.tx.us/opinions/opinions/50abbott/op/2003/pdf/ga0106.pdf).
I was wondering if any of the resident legal minds might have a comment on this. Personally, I think that this Attorney General is stupid, an idiot, and a ***head.
From Texas Attorney General's Opinion GA-0106 (https://www.oag.state.tx.us/opinions/opinions/50abbott/op/2003/pdf/ga0106.pdf).
I was wondering if any of the resident legal minds might have a comment on this. Personally, I think that this Attorney General is stupid, an idiot, and a ***head.
