Section 737.19 | Powers and duties of village marshal.
(A) The marshal of a village has exclusive authority over the stationing and transfer of all deputies, officers, and employees within the police department of the village, under the general rules that the mayor prescribes.
(B) Except as provided in section 737.162 of the Revised Code, the marshal of a village has the exclusive right to suspend any of the deputies, officers, or employees in the village police department who are under the management and control of the marshal for incompetence, gross neglect of duty, gross immorality, habitual drunkenness, failure to obey orders given them by the proper authority, or for any other reasonable or just cause.
If an employee is suspended under this section, the marshal immediately shall certify this fact in writing, together with the cause for the suspension, to the mayor of the village and immediately shall serve a true copy of the charges upon the person against whom they are made. Within five days after receiving this certification, the mayor shall inquire into the cause of the suspension and shall render a judgment on it. If the mayor sustains the charges, the judgment of the mayor may be for the person's suspension, reduction in rank, or removal from the department.
Suspensions of more than three days, reduction in rank, or removal from the department under this section may be appealed to the legislative authority of the village within five days from the date of the mayor's judgment. The legislative authority shall hear the appeal at its next regularly scheduled meeting. The person against whom the judgment has been rendered may appear in person and by counsel at the hearing, examine all witnesses, and answer all charges against that person.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the legislative authority may dismiss the charges, uphold the mayor's judgment, or modify the judgment to one of suspension for not more than sixty days, reduction in rank, or removal from the department.
Action of the legislative authority removing or suspending the accused from the department requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all members elected to it.
In the case of removal from the department, the person so removed may appeal on questions of law and fact the decision of the legislative authority to the court of common pleas of the county in which the village is situated. The person shall take the appeal within ten days from the date of the finding of the legislative authority.
(C) The marshal of a village shall suppress all riots, disturbances, and breaches of the peace, and to that end may call upon the citizens to aid the marshal. The marshal shall arrest all disorderly persons in the village and pursue and arrest any person fleeing from justice in any part of the state. The marshal shall arrest any person in the act of committing an offense against the laws of the state or the ordinances of the village and forthwith bring that person before the mayor or other competent authority for examination or trial. The marshal shall receive and execute proper authority for the arrest and detention of criminals fleeing or escaping from other places or states.
In the discharge of the marshal's duties, the marshal shall have the powers and be subject to the responsibilities of constables, and, for services performed by the marshal or the marshal's deputies, the same fees and expenses shall be taxed as are allowed constables.
Available Versions of this Section
- October 16, 1996 – House Bill 566 - 121st General Assembly [ View October 16, 1996 Version ]