RSA Chapter 106-C — Emergency Police Assistance

Title VII — Sheriffs, Constables, and Police Officers

Current through the 2025 Regular Session of the New Hampshire General Court.

Title VII Sheriffs, Constables, and Police Officers

RSA 106-C:1 Definitions

In this chapter:

I. "Emergency" means a riot, as that term is used in RSA 644:1, and a natural disaster of major proportions, such as fire, flood, hurricane, earthquake, or any other disaster or emergency.

II. "Emergency police assistance" means assistance during an emergency, as defined in paragraph I, and assistance during a critical incident emergency, as defined in paragraph VIII.

III. "Chief executive officer" means the high sheriff of a county or chief of police of a city or town.

IV. "Police department personnel" means all sheriffs, deputy and special sheriffs, and all police personnel and constables regularly employed on full or part-time duty by a police department or police force of the state, or of any county, city, town, village or precinct in the state, but not including the members of a police department auxiliary.

V. "Local police departments" includes the police department of cities and towns, precincts and village districts.

VI. "Municipality" means any city, town, precinct or village district.

VII. "Special reaction team" means any distinct unit of a police department or any regional unit comprised of more than one police department organized and equipped for the purpose of responding to critical incident emergencies and whose members have been specially trained to respond to such emergencies.

VIII. "Critical incident emergency" means a life-threatening incident of major proportions, including, but not limited to, hostage situations, barricaded persons, and situations involving armed persons.

Source. 1967, 431:1. 1999, 342:1, eff. Jan. 9, 2000.

RSA 106-C:2 Provisions Effective During Emergency

The provisions of this chapter shall be effective during, and only during, periods of emergency as defined in RSA 106-C:1, I.

Source. 1967, 431:1, eff. Sept. 5, 1967.

RSA 106-C:3 Inter-Community Police Assistance

Any county may by order of the county commissioners and any municipality may, by law or ordinance, authorize and permit the sheriff's department or the chief or head of its police department to extend assistance in time of emergency to any other county or municipality, subject to such restrictions and conditions as may be imposed by such order, law or ordinance.

Source. 1967, 431:1, eff. Sept. 5, 1967.

RSA 106-C:3-a Inter-Community Special Reaction Team Assistance for Critical Incident Emergency

The chief executive officer, or such officer's designee, of a police department with the special reaction team or the person designated by the chief executive officers of the member communities of a regional special reaction team as authorized to order the deployment of such regional special reaction team is authorized to assign the special reaction team to extend assistance to any other county or municipality in times of a critical incident emergency. Requests for such assistance shall be made by the chief executive officer, or such officer's designee, of the police department in need of emergency police assistance for a critical incident emergency. Requests for such assistance may also be made by the ranking on-duty state police officer when the state police is coordinating the response to a critical incident emergency and is in need of emergency police assistance, or by the commander of a regional special reaction team when that team is coordinating the response to a critical incident emergency and is in need of emergency police assistance.

Source. 1999, 342:2, eff. Jan. 9, 2000.

RSA 106-C:4 Powers, Rights, Privileges and Immunities

Whenever pursuant to the authority granted under this chapter, the members of a local police department, or of the state police or the sheriff's department are engaged in assisting another county or municipality in combatting an emergency in such other county or municipality, such police department personnel shall possess the same powers, and have the same duties, rights, privileges and immunities they would have if they were performing the said duties for the county or counties, municipality or municipalities to whose sheriff's or police department they are normally attached.

Source. 1967, 431:1, eff. Sept. 5, 1967.

RSA 106-C:5 Loss, Damage or Expense

In case any county or municipally-owned equipment is damaged or lost, or in the event that any expense is incurred in connection therewith in answering a call for assistance made by another county or municipality, by reason of an emergency in another county or municipality, such loss, damage or expense, together with the cost of any material or supplies used in connection with meeting such emergency, shall be a charge against and shall be paid by such other county or municipality which issued the call for assistance. No claim for any such loss, damage, or expense shall be allowed unless, within 60 days after the loss, damage or expense is sustained or incurred, an itemized notice of such claim, authenticated under oath, is served, personally, or by registered mail return receipt requested, by the duly authorized representative of the police department concerned, upon the principal executive officer of the county or municipality to which such assistance was rendered.

Source. 1967, 431:1, eff. Sept. 5, 1967.

RSA 106-C:6 Liability for Acts or Omissions

Neither the state nor any county or municipality whose police department personnel, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, are rendering emergency police assistance to another county or municipality, shall be liable by reason of any act or omission on the part of such police department personnel while so engaged; or on account of the maintenance or use of any equipment or supplies used in connection with the rendering of such assistance; nor shall any county commissioner, police commissioner, sheriff, police chief or other superior officer of any police department, sheriff's office or the state police, acting pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, be liable by reason of any act or omission on the part of any of his subordinates when they are rendering emergency assistance, under the command of an officer other than himself, in a county or municipality other than that in which they normally are employed.

Source. 1967, 431:1, eff. Sept. 5, 1967.

RSA 106-C:7 Reimbursement for Salaries and Expenses

Any county or municipality within the state of New Hampshire, which receives emergency assistance pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall reimburse the county or municipality which furnishes such aid for the compensation which was paid to police department personnel engaged in such assistance; for actual travel and maintenance expense for such employees while rendering such aid.

Source. 1967, 431:1, eff. Sept. 5, 1967.

RSA 106-C:8 Donation of Services

Nothing contained herein shall prevent any county or municipality which renders assistance to another county or municipality within the state from assuming such loss, damage, expense, or other cost, or from loaning police equipment, or from donating the services of such personnel and such equipment without charge or cost to the county or municipality requiring assistance.

Source. 1967, 431:1, eff. Sept. 5, 1967.

RSA 106-C:9 Recall From Service Outside of a Municipality or County

If, while any police department personnel or equipment pertaining to a New Hampshire county or municipality is engaged in rendering emergency police assistance upon call in another county or municipality within the state, an emergency develops within the county or municipality to which the assisting police department personnel and equipment pertain, the chief executive officer of such county or municipality shall determine whether such personnel and equipment shall be recalled in order to meet the local emergency. Upon the recall order issued by such chief executive officer of the assisting county or municipality, the personnel and equipment shall forthwith return to their normal stations or to the place specified in such recall order. The decision of the chief executive officer of the assisting county or municipality, made under the emergency conditions contemplated by this chapter, shall supersede any agreements or arrangements for mutual assistance entered into as provided in RSA 106-C:10.

Source. 1967, 431:1, eff. Sept. 5, 1967.

RSA 106-C:10 Reciprocal Relations With Other Counties or Municipalities

The chief executive officers of the counties or municipalities are authorized within the provisions of this chapter, to enter into agreement with other counties or municipalities within the state concerning the methods by which emergency police assistance will be rendered as provided in this chapter.

Source. 1967, 431:1, eff. Sept. 5, 1967.