A small item appeared on the Associated Press wire yesterday, stating that the Sun City West posse commander told its members to cease operations, after they discovered that there was no insurance coverage on those Crown Victoria surplus police cruisers with county plates that the posse members had been driving. Note that all the posse cars have county license plates, not just the Cold Case Posse cars.
At this time, Sun City West is the only posse to suspend operations, according Sheriff Arpaio, but others may follow, at least until the insurance issue gets sorted out.
Read more:
- SCW Posse suspends operations – Arizona NewsZap
- Posse activities suspended indefinitely – Your West Valley
- Halted posse operation in West Valley stirs confusion – Arizona Central (video)
- Sun City West Posse web site
- BREAKING, UPDATE: Posses Not Carrying Insurance On Vehicles Caused Grounding; County Trying To Help MCSO Find Insurance Company; Grounding NOT Prompted By Shot Posse Member – Arizona’s Politics
- Maricopa County Patrol Activities – MCSO Press Release
Sounds like some Brian Reilly’s concerns are being being heard. Glad they’re doing this before they have a major liability come out of their own pockets.
The plates must be changed and the posses must get their own insurance it would appear. What a horrible can of worms! There will be no quick fix I’m told.
Mmm, might be some worrying in birtherville over this. I mean, if they lose their precious CCP, whatever shall they do?
A reminder of my earlier comment: http://www.obamaconspiracy.org/2014/03/brians-answers/#comment-320423
As it regards the plates I’m wondering how, if they are exempt government registrations, they were issued to a private non-profit.
Also I’m wondering about the vehicles. Were they all purchased as surplus with the equipment and insignia left intact? Or were they, somehow, purchased new by the posses on the county contract for police cars?
Years ago each entity – city, county and state – bought their own vehicles but then they got together with the state pooled their purchases to get a better deal. Not sure how they are doing it now but one of the requirements at that point was that the purchaser was a real government agency.
California has a law that former police vehicles have to be stripped of all their police equipment and repainted so there is no chance they can be mistaken for a police car. I’m not sure if Arizona has a similar law.
It will be interesting to see how these vehicles were acquired by the posses and if, in the process, it ended up costing the taxpayers any money.
The problem is that Maricopa County doesn’t own the vehicles, so it has no insurable interest in them even if it wanted to insure them.
As for the posse members, their own insurance policies would cover them while driving a vehicle borrowed from a friend, but not for an unowned vehicle which is provided for their regular use. Obviously, a posse member who is allowed to park a Posse Crown Victoria at home has access to it for his or her regular use.
I have no doubt that the insurance premiums would be astronomical for vehicles which are operated in potentially dangerous circumstances by semi-trained volunteers.
It also appears that the Posses have been violating Arizona’s mandatory insurance law:
Arizona requires that every motor vehicle operated on roadways be covered by one of the statutory forms of financial responsibility, more commonly called liability insurance, through a company that is authorized to do business in Arizona. This requirement also includes golf carts, motorcycles and mopeds.
Minimum levels of financial responsibility are
$15,000 bodily-injury liability for one person and $30,000 for two or more people.
$10,000 property-damage liability.
http://www.azdot.gov/mvd/faq/vehicle-services/mandatory-insurance
Since the county is self-insured I wonder if they convinced themselves it was okay to cover them. But you’re absolutely right, if they went to market and tried to buy insurance to cover a vehicle they don’t own that is operated by a non-profit they don’t control they would be laughed at.
It still comes down to the county could and would be held legally and financially responsible for anything these pretend peace officers happened to do while playing pretend peace officer, and that could add substantially to the millions Shurf Joe has already cost the county, and whether legally or not, those cars have county licenses on them so anything that happens involving those vehicles they are in it as well.
I think it’s even broader than that. Imagine trying to explain to a judge or jury why you’re not responsible for something that has your name all over it and that you’ve promoted for over 20 years.
If I were injured in an accident involving a posse cruiser, I would certainly sue Maricopa County and argue that the driver was an agent of the County, even though an unpaid volunteer. At the very least that would be an avenue to have discovery into the actual relationship between the posses and the Sheriff’s office.
Brian Reilly indicated he had a MCSO radio (that didn’t work) and unit number.
If the uniformed posse members are dispatched by the MCSO that pretty much settles it.
Could we see ambulance chaser lawyers looking for anyone injured by any Maricopa posse cars? Alternatively, has Maricopa County paid out for any Posse car accidents? How many posse members have had damages paid out by the county when this should never have happened?
Good questions!
Doc is good at FOIA requests…..maybe it’s time for one to the MCSO…..unless he’s already thought of it.
ArthurWankspittle,
“Could we see ambulance chaser lawyers looking for anyone injured by any Maricopa posse cars? Alternatively, has Maricopa County paid out for any Posse car accidents? How many posse members have had damages paid out by the county when this should never have happened?”
I’ve heard that the Sun City West Posse currently is facing legal action as a result of a Posse member driving accident. An FOIA would be timely.
A quick check of the Maricopa County Justice of the Peace and Superior Court’ civil dockets doesn’t produce anything with the word “posse” in either party’s name.
Normally this sort of thing would go through the claims process with the county and the supervisors (I think) before it could go to court.
But would the “internal” incidents? e.g. Posse car with “car park damage” that gets repaired by the county.
I wouldn’t think so. Maybe Curious George can provide more details about what he’s heard.
Funny thing, Carl, there used to be a stripped down county vehicle not too far from where I live, and while the equipment was gone and the decals and stripes removed, it was still easy to tell by all of the bullet holes in the side of the vehicle.
Suncity Posse newsletter
Please Note: Sun City Posse patrols are not law enforcement and cannot issue traffic citations
http://www.suncityposse.org/letters/newsletter.pdf
Also
A few Posse members in the Sun Cities are licensed firearm users, but most do not carry weapons. Posse members have no authority to pull over vehicles nor issue criminal or misdemeanor citations. They cannot make arrests unless directed to do so by a sworn county sheriff’s deputy.
http://www.yourwestvalley.com/suncity/article_6715e7f0-b948-11e3-85fd-0019bb2963f4.html
But they do drive fully equipped cars that look like the real deal but are not government vehicles.
IANAL but have some further thoughts: If I get into a county car which isn’t insured but should be, am I being “endangered”? If I am directed or forced into a county car which isn’t under the control of a genuine law officer am I being kidnapped?
Any “ambulance chasing” lawyer could have a field day with this.
Arthur, I think you have pretty well hit the nail on the head, or in this case, pointed out the prize goose with the golden eggs to, as you put it, an “ambulance chasing” lawyer. Unless the law is markedly different in AZ, the county should be absolutely liable for ANYTHING that happened to an outside party, and I’m fairly sure that they would be liable for anything that happens to one of their pretend deputies. I think one thing they are missing is the workman’s comp liabilities that these pretend deputies bring about. I think there is a whole ugly can of worms here that the county liability officer, or whatever they call them, is missing out on.
I think I mentioned it before on the blog but posse members (other than search and rescue folks) are specifically excluded from coverage. It’s in ARS 23-901 http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/23/00901.htm&Title=23&DocType=ARS
It’s down in section 6(g):
This subdivision shall not be construed to provide compensation coverage for any member of a sheriff’s posse who is not a certified member of an authorized volunteer sheriff’s reserve except as a participant in a search and rescue mission or a search and rescue training mission.
Some of the current stories in Phoenix media have the sheriff’s office indicating they are covered. There was an effort to change the law last year that I believe it failed but the sheriff’s office may know something that isn’t obvious in the law……or not.
It’s Risk Management…..and I think the issue is starting to see the light of day. It is going to be interesting watch this story develop.
The Sheriff’s office could be in a lot of hot water because they apparently have been telling posse members that they are covered by workers’ comp. As you have noted, unless the law has been changed they are not covered unless they are injured while on a search and rescue mission.
However, the County could still be on the hook for WC benefits if injured posse members relied on representations made to them that they are covered. It is a legal theory called “detrimental reliance.” In a nutshell, if someone in the Sheriff’s office with apparent authority told the posse members that they are covered, and the posse members relied on that assurance, the County may have to pay them WC benefits even though they are not entitled to them under the law.
The astonishing thing to me is that the county apparently failed to address these issues when the posses were first formed. If I were a posse member, I would be none too please to learn that I had been driving around in an uninsured vehicle, leaving me personally liable for damages if I had been involved in an accident.
My guess is it’s just dawning on folks in county management what the potential problems are for for both worker’s comp and uninsured cars that look like they belong to the county with people who look like they work for the county inside. It’s really mind boggling.
As it regards search and rescue those posses are clearly identified by name, mission and training. The Sun City posses won’t be able to claim looking for someone lost on their way to the Safeway counts.
And, of course, you’re right about the county being on the hook based on what real employees of the SO tell them. It could get ugly.
Other than the Cold Case Posse all the others date back to the early 70’s and some of the ceremonial units even further.
I’m sure that over the years some of the members of the patrol posses, like those in Sun City, have asked about those very things. Many of them are retired business people with lots of experience in the real world.
It will be interesting to see what the SO, especially during Arpaio’s two decades in office, provided in the way of answers to any questions that were asked.
Is Arizona the only state wherein this “posse” nonsense exists?
Apart from the CCP, the posses seem to do good things, but you’re right – why not just hire enough real police officers and make the posses unnecessary?
Minnesota Mounted Sheriff’s Posse Association
Washington State Mounted Sheriff’s Posse
Clackmas County Sheriff’s Posse (Oregon)
Weld County Colorado Sheriff’s Posse
Napa County California
Dallas County Texas Posse Unit
Michigan Sheriff’s Mounted Association
Pasco County Florida
Los Alamos County NM
Gem County Idaho
Mobile County, Alabama
Otter Tail County, Minnesota
Mecosta County Michigan
…
I don’t know of any of them are nearly as large.
It’s probably a matter of expense. If you can get some volunteers to do crowd control at a parade and direct traffic around an accident, you free up the real law enforcement types to do more important stuff. And search and rescue can require lots of folks, but only once in a while.
Maybe they do good things that are sometimes necessary, but ISTM that the way the Maricopa ones are constituted could lead to results much more costly in the long run than paying for people to do them. “Bottom line” folks very often make very costly mistakes. This seems like an expose story for that reporter in AZ to tell us the “real” cost.
The is a new article about the Posse shutdown at the Phoenix New Times. They obtained a copy of a memo that went out from the MCSO to all the posses:
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2014/04/maricopa_county_posse_vehicles.php
In response to a comment I left at the Arizonas Politics blog Mitch Martinson seems to think that the issue over the posse vehicles was a result of Brian Reilly’s coming forward.
I’ve never seen anything nearly as large. Los Angeles County Sheriff and the city police have reserve programs with hundreds of officers but they’re all sworn officers.
Most posses are ceremonial – riding their horses in parades, etc. – and/or assisting in search and rescue efforts. I am not aware of any sheriff, in Arizona or out, that has them on patrol the way Arpaio has allowed.
Cynical observers in Arizona have suggested there may be a political motive involved with Arpaio!!
Most departments have volunteer programs that range from non-sworn folks who help answer the phones and file paperwork all the way up to trained and sworn reserves.
If you look for programs labeled VIP’s, usually Volunteers in Policing, you will see how various departments configure their programs.
It takes training to do even the things you mention. Directing traffic can be a challenge and, handling poorly, can cause more problems that it solves. Same with search and rescue.
During county fairs in Michigan, they used to use what was called Reserve Deputy Sheriffs. They were often mounted and helped with crowd control. I found Mecosta County being on the list a little strange as Ferris State University has their own police force and, if I recall, involves some of the CJ students in extra duties (they have a rather active criminal justice degree program). Maybe the hockey games are a bit much for just the campus police.
“licensed firearm users” is a pretty meaningless term in AZ, since you can carry, open or concealed, pretty much anything that doesn’t require an FFL just about anyplace other than private or government buildings with signage prohibiting it, without any sort of permit.
I’m surprised that most of the posse members don’t carry, though: if they look as much like real cops as the stories suggest, they’re making themselves targets for the violent criminals who are sometimes stupid enough to try to shoot their way out of an encounter. Maybe I got the wrong impression, and they’re not doing as much patrolling, and similarly-risky work, as I thought.
Another interesting point from that article:
At 50 cents apiece for Crown Vics, it doesn’t seem like the County owes them a whole lot for their “fundraising” efforts…
I have two friends who volunteer for such programs. One is a retired deputy, and the other one is a retired Marine MP, with a long career in private security (guarding a nuclear station). I think both are doing desk jobs right now.
You’re correct about carrying in Arizona. In this case the armed posse members are required to complete the firearms unit for certified officers that is required by AZPOST. It’s about 30 hours, I think. They aren’t certified in any way by AZPOST but the sheriff makes it kinda sound like they are.
They look exactly like certified deputies. Their uniforms are exactly the same down to the shoulder patch that says “Deputy Sheriff”. Here are some pictures from the Sun City West Posse’s website: http://www.scwposse.com/photos
The only difference is on the badge where it says “Sheriff’s Posse”. Also notice the vehicles are exactly the same as vehicles used by certified deputies. Not a word on them about the posse. Just “Sheriff” in big letters on both sides.
It’s a miracle that a posse member hasn’t been hurt. The Sun City’s are pretty low crime areas but areas near them aren’t.
Most of the vehicles I see on the Sun City West website are Ford SUV’s and they look pretty new to me. They also appear to be equipped with a police package – push bar, overhead bar, spotlights, wheels. I assume they also have the standard unit to control the lights, siren, outside speaker, etc. Add a radio to the package and you’ve got a fair amount of money.
The question for me is that if they aren’t surplus just how is a non-profit public service organization buying fully equipped and heralded police cars???
The programs I am familiar with don’t have members wearing uniforms that can be confused with regular officers. My guess is your friends may wear a shirt of some sort that says VIP or something like that.
The Arizona Highway Patrol has a certified reserve unit but it also has a group of trained volunteers who patrol the freeways to handle vehicle assistance calls. They’re in a pick-up that says something about roadside help and they wear a sport shirt with the program name on it…..no gun belts, no guns, no badges……no confusion.
Well, that’s encouraging: helps weed out the action-movie-wannabes. And it’s good to know that somebody in government in the Phoenix area managed to avoid whatever pathogen it is that infested our gun-nut state legislature.
And I figured that the posse deputies almost certainly had done something more substantial, but the opening for the cheap joke was just too irresistible.
They may have had some help. I contacted EJ Montini at the Arizona Republic.
I’ve also seen one of them picking up trash on a busy approach to a city street along I-17.
CarlOrcas,
“I wouldn’t think so. Maybe Curious George can provide more details about what he’s heard.”
I’m still looking for information regarding the alleged incident. So far, I can’t find a recent traffic accident report involving a Sun City or Sun City West Posse vehicle accident on a main highway called Bell Road.
It’s hard to avoid cheap jokes when talking about Arpaio’s follies.
Is there a database of accidents by city/jurisdiction or something that includes everything in the county or state?
If it’s by city/jurisdiction you could have at least two, maybe three or four possibilities along that section of Bell Road: MCSO, Surprise, maybe El Mirage and Phoenix.
April 3, 2014: Suspension of all Posse vehicles county wide according to Sun City Posse.
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2014/04/sheriff_arpaio_to_visit_posse.php
As Carl says, Bell Road covers a lot of territory. I used to live a couple of miles south of Bell Road, near 59th Avenue and Greenway, but that was back in the late 70s. A lot has changed since then.
Here’s another one on the West Valley website:
http://www.yourwestvalley.com/suncity/article_ef71f20e-baf3-11e3-897d-001a4bcf887a.html
Suppose to be a news conference around 3 there…tune in and watch Joe dance! 😀
Well, AZ’s Politics also reported, late last month, that Arpaio’s campaign for Governor is also shut down. Maybe: he sent out a fundraising appeal saying he’s decided to run for re-election, but only if enough of his audience claps.
And sends money, of course.
Otoh, it appears that the Clueless Clown Posse has _not_ shut down. I thought it rather odd that the Twit Feed sidebar showed a couple of people promoting Gillar’s December video showing that he had learned how to use some text dissolve tools.
But the other shoe has dropped: that latest BR story is a series of tweets from “Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Posse volunteer researcher/videographer and radio host Mark Gillar” (a title he doesn’t use, himself, because it would consume most of a tweet), in which he breaks the Exciting! New!! News!!! that Team Arpaio is going to unleash the shattering of the Universe “Between now and the midterms”.
Except that, apparently, it’s no longer “Universe-shattering”: it’s been downgraded to “shocking revelations” that will “change America’s political landscape forever”. Which, iirc, is almost word-for-word what they said about the March 2012 presser.
He also repeats what now appears to be the Official Excuse for Inaction™: “LFBC stuff would be out already if not for other crimes discovered.”
And the hlarious finale is: “Believe it or not, the new stuff somewhat eclipses the LFBC crime. It’s that big.”
Which means it could be even bigger than the fluff piece about Obama’s NCAA bracket choices that “somewhat eclipse[d]” their previous “shocking revelations”.
So, I guess we can all relax, because “it’s been reported” that Zullo does _not_ intend to destroy the Universe.
Which, by birther standards, means it must true.
“Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”
When will the Clown Posse admit that their ‘researchers’ got it all wrong about the PDF? Why is it so hard to admit that they have been wrong?
That by itself undermines the little credibility the Clown Posse may have had left.
They are slowly bringing their supporters in for a ‘soft landing’ when they finally release their ‘findings’. Nothing much will remain.
It’s just that the clown posse is having a hard time accepting reality.
The P&E reports that Gillar has identified the SSS, Obots, the DOH HI and the USPS as top candidates for criminal prosecution.
Presumably because the SSS released the information about Obama during the Bush era, which shows that President Obama not only registered for selective services but also used the same SSN that has been assigned to him all to way to 2011. It is unclear if the SSN was changed to protect our President after some people in a rather irresponsible fashion pasted his SSN across the internet.
This is so hilarious… the USPS 🙂 Shocking….
Well, the P&E says it so we can safely disregard it.
Watch thou the heavens, for I shall send thee a sign.
I wish them luck with that; Mary Shelley wrote a book about it 200 years ago. It got good reviews.
I’m sure there’s a lot more. I’m surprised he didn’t include the Supreme Court, Congress, President Bush and VP Cheney in his list.
“…And the bezan shall be huge and black, and the eyes thereof red with the blood of living creatures, and the whore of Babylon shall ride forth on a three-headed serpent, and throughout the lands, there’ll be a great rubbing of parts…”
Life of Brian, Scene 15.
Those must’ve been the kind of “VIP’s” Zullo was talking about. With standing. As in “standing guard in front of an empty warehouse”.
Obviously they discovered that the USPS didn’t just swap the real birth certificate (the one that says “Birthplace: Hawaii … no, just kidding, we really meant Kenya”) but also swapped the Real Constitution – when George Washington mailed it to his wife for approval – for a fake one that didn’t include the “two citizen parents” and “of white skin colour” requirements.
Yes, that’s gotta be it, the USPS (Union of Socialist Porn Seekers) was behind it all from the start! OMG! We better get packing because any day now!
Note they don’t happen to mention WHICH mid-terms…my money’s on the 2018. Any Year Now.
Sounds like your basic CCP threat, we’re candidates for criminal prosecution but they can’t even come up with what crime we’ve committed. Maybe the used car salesman will charge us under laws he understands? Is there a lemon law for politics?
Now, now…they’ve got their fake badges, their fake police cars, their fake titles, their fake evidence, and their fake accomplishments…what more reality do you want from them?
Well, I hope he prosecutes me, cause I could use a few hundred thousand dollars extra, courtesy of the people in Maricopa County who elected Arpaio.
Nice job Doc,
Here’s a piece from this morning in the Phoenix New Times that deals with Brian Reilly’s letter and more…..
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2014/04/unmarked_posse_cars_to_ditch_g.php
Well, if they have to repo his mustache to keep the “investigation” going, I know where Zullo can get a replacement on the cheap. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBUZIwwP_VU