Sec. 7. (a) The safety board may detail regular police officers or firefighters, or appoint and swear an additional number of special police officers or firefighters, to do special duty within the city. Regular police officers and firefighters serving special duty shall be paid the same rate per diem for this service as is paid to members of the department in their regular employment. The board may determine the compensation of persons serving special duty in all other cases.

     (b) Unless the safety board designates otherwise, the special police officers are subject to the police chief and the special firefighters are subject to the fire chief. If they are employees of departments other than the police or fire department, they shall obey the rules of their respective departments and conform to its discipline and orders to the extent these do not conflict with the orders of the safety board. A person other than a regular police officer or firefighter may not wear a uniform the design of which is not easily distinguishable from or which conforms with respect to the color or design of the state police or a sheriff‘s patrol of the county in which the city is located or the police or fire department of the city. Special police officers and firefighters, during the term of their appointment, have those powers, privileges, and duties assigned to them by the safety board. They have these powers, privileges, and duties only while fulfilling the specific responsibilities for which the appointment is made. Persons other than regular police officers and firefighters appointed under this section may be removed by the safety board at any time without notice and without assigning any cause.

     (c) The powers and duties of officers appointed to serve as security police for school corporations include:

(1) the protection of school personnel while on school business, including school children, employees, and members of the governing body of the school corporation; and

(2) the protection of all school corporation property.

     (d) Auxiliary firefighters directly connected with and created to augment the regular fire departments may wear a uniform the design of which is established by the safety board. Persons so appointed may be removed at any time by the board, without notice and without assigning any cause.

     (e) In time of emergency the safety board may also detail members from the police or fire department for the use of any other department of the city government.

     (f) This subsection applies only to a special officer who is employed full time by a consolidated city to perform park ranger duties after June 30, 2023. A special officer is subject to IC 5-2-1, and the facilities of the law enforcement academy shall be used to provide the special officer’s basic training under IC 5-2-1-9(d).

[Pre-Local Government Recodification Citation: 18-1-11-5 part.]

As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.52. Amended by P.L.360-1983, SEC.1; P.L.173-2023, SEC.4.