(A) There is created the County Police Force, whose members shall be employees of the county, and whose activities shall be directed by the County Sheriff according to law (see I.C. 36-8-10-2, 36-8-10-3, and 36-8-10-4). The expenses of the County Police Force herein created shall be a part of the Sheriff’s budget, and the salaries and number of its personnel shall be determined by the County Sheriff’s Merit Board with the approval of the County Council.
(B) Each member of the County Police Force shall have general police powers and be a conservator of the peace within the county; shall arrest, without process, all persons who, within his or her view, shall commit any crime or misdemeanor, take them before the nearest justice of the peace or magistrate of the county, and detain them in custody until the cause of the arrest has been investigated; and suppress all breaches of the peace within his or her knowledge. Each member is hereby given authority to call to his or her aid the power of the county; pursue and commit to the county jail all felons; execute all process directed to the County Sheriff by legal authority; attend upon and preserve order in all courts of record of the county, except justices’ courts; and guard prisoners in the county jail. Each member is hereby empowered to serve all process directed to the Sheriff from the circuit court, superior court, or from the Board of County Commissioners, according to law.
(C) Any member of the County Police Force who becomes Sheriff either by election or by appointment shall, upon the expiration of the term and upon his or her written application, be appointed by the Sheriff’s Merit Board to the rank in the County Police Force which he or she held at the time of his or her election or appointment as Sheriff, provided there is a vacancy in the County Police Force. If the Sheriff during his or her tenure of office has qualified in accordance with promotional procedure, as prescribed by the Sheriff’s Merit Board in its rules and regulations, for any rank in the County Police Force which is higher than the rank he or she previously held, the Sheriff’s Merit Board shall upon expiration of his or her term as Sheriff, appoint him or her for the rank for which he or she has qualified, under promotional procedure; provided, however, that there is a vacancy in such rank.
(D) The County Sheriff shall, with the approval of the Sheriff’s Merit Board, establish a classification of ranks, grades and positions for county police officers in the County Police Force. For each rank, grade and position so established, the Sheriff, with the approval of the Sheriff’s Merit Board, shall set reasonable standards of qualifications and fix the prerequisites of training, education, and experience. The Sheriff, with the approval of the Sheriff’s Merit Board, shall devise and administer examinations designed to test applicants as to the qualifications required for the respective ranks, grades or positions, and only those applicants who, in the opinion of the Sheriff and the Sheriff’s Merit Board, best meet the recognized standards and prerequisites shall be appointed. All county police officers appointed to the County Police Force under this section shall be probationers and on probation for one year from the date of the appointment.
(E) The Sheriff may discharge, demote or temporarily suspend any county police officer for cause after preferring charges in writing and after a fair public hearing before the Sheriff’s Merit Board, reviewable by the circuit court, a notice of which charges and hearings shall be delivered by certified mail to the county police officer to be discharged, demoted or temporarily suspended. The county police officer may be represented by counsel. The Sheriff may temporarily suspend without a hearing before the Sheriff’s Merit Board any county police officer, after preferring charges of misconduct in writing delivered to the county police officer, for a period not to exceed 15 days. No county police officer shall be discharged, demoted or temporarily suspended because of political affiliation, nor shall any county police officer be discharged, demoted or temporarily suspended after his or her probationary period except as provided in this section. For the purpose of hearings provided in this section, the Sheriff’s Merit Board shall have subpoena powers enforceable by the circuit court. Probationers may be discharged by the Sheriff without right to hearing.
(F) All deputy sheriffs who, upon the taking of effect of this section, shall have served for more than one year shall be deemed qualified to serve as county police officers, except that all those holding superior rank, grade or position as deputy sheriffs, upon the taking of effect of this section, must be approved by the Sheriff and the Sheriff’s Merit Board before assuming such superior rank, grade or position as county police officer. Deputies having served one or more years upon the taking effect of this section shall be deemed to have passed their probationary period for county police officer.
(`83 Code, § 32.13) (Ord. 1969-11A, passed 9-4-69)