Rhode Island § 45-42-3 - Emergency Police Power

§ 45-42-3. Mutual aid — Campus police officer and special police officer.

(a) Any public or private educational institution of higher learning located in this state, with a police or other public safety department consisting of campus police officers appointed pursuant to chapter 52 of title 16, or special police officers appointed pursuant to chapter 2.1 of title 12, may enter into a mutual aid agreement with the city or town in which the institution is primarily located, solely for the purpose of providing emergency assistance in response to specific incidents at the request of the police chief of the city or town. Officers appointed under these chapters must have satisfactorily completed a training academy certified by the Police Officer’s Commission on Standards and Training.

(b) The mutual aid agreement will not be effective until formally approved by the city or town council in which the institution is located, after a public hearing and by the governing body or office of the institution of higher learning.

(c) The special police officers responding to a request for emergency assistance pursuant to a duly approved mutual aid agreement shall have the same authority, powers, duties, privileges, and immunities for jurisdictional purposes as a duly appointed police officer of the city or town making the request.

(d) The special police officers responding to the request for emergency assistance under the mutual aid agreement shall be subject to, and considered within, the control and authority of the requesting chief of police for the duration of the emergency and until released by the requesting chief of police.