Ask Trooper Steve: Can border patrol officers pull you over?

News 6 traffic safety expert Trooper Steve Montiero answers viewer questions about the rules of the road every week, helping Central Florida residents become better drivers by being better educated.

[uberfu]

FYI: The ENTIRE STATE OF FLORIDA falls inside the 100 mile border zone.

[justdefi]

The 100-mile border enforcement zone encompasses the entire state of Florida

[respectamerica]

Yes! If they reasonable suspsion that you committed a crime.

[MissionaryOnWheels]

I would assume that any law enforcement agent can stop and detain you if you break laws pertaining to jurisdiction they oversee. BP is not really looking for traffic violations but immigration violations. Local police and State Troopers usually pull people over for laws or statutes that are tied to state or local ordinances. Yet a BP agent is really more interested in violations under federal jurisdiction that are namely immigration related. If a border patrol agent saw you speeding I suppose he/she could stop you perhaps - but often in such case they may only detain you temporarily and then hand it over to the state police (if highway) or the local municipal authorities such as city police if the violation happened within a city jurisdiction.

Another interesting thing to consider, DHS or Department of Homeland Security can also pursue an individual that may be in violation of some national security issue or federal crime such as (for example) drug smuggling. True if the city police or state troopers suspected you of doing something while in their jurisdictions they can definitely bust you. It does sometimes become a case of hot potato where one law enforcement agency may determine to send it to another based on the scope of what jurisdiction (whether a federal crime or a state crime) - or what geographic jurisdiction it may fall under as well

There is territorial jurisdiction as well as nature of a violation jurisdiction. A Florida state trooper is not going to be pulling you over in Georgia out of his bounds. And example of nature of violation jurisdiction, generally speaking if you were busted for some cyber internet crime, the local police would probably not be the ones paying you a visit but rather the FBI, depending I guess on what the crime was

Likewise if you are suspected as being guilty of tax evasion, you would not likely have state trooper or county sheriff or city police knocking but rather having the IRS come knocking and if they got some form of law enforcement involved it be likely federal authorities.

Another great example, United States Postal Service has its own law enforcement branch known as United States Postal Inspection. Now if a crime happened to a USPS worker or within USPS, then USPI would get involved. For example some crazed person attacks a mail worker, well first local authorities would be notified and prob show up but the investigative aspect would be handled likely by United States Postal Inspections, and maybe both police in the city it took place and the Federal Postal Inspection would be involved also

For one assault and battery are state offenses yes, but if it happened to a federal officer like mail person, it raise it to a federal investigatory phase

[lovineveryminuetofit]

That’s the stupid question! And anyone who doesn’t know the answer should be pulled over and see for themselves! Typical with todays generation, they think the road is just for them and will put Nyones life in danger that may be in their way! Now a days they should change the whole getting your drivers license at 16 and make it 30, but even then that generation is still immature and selfish