# Arresting military personel



## stm4710 (Jul 6, 2004)

From the stm4710 had no date tonight, watched Cops and now has a question file.


How do you go about arresting military personal? Do they get processed like John Q. or is there a special process? Or do you take them to the station and wait for the MP to come? 

Just wondering.


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## EOD1 (Mar 11, 2004)

Well if we are arrested for a civil problem and not wanted on charges by the military then we are like John Q. The military does get notified and then (not sure really how, but i believe it is up to the service member). Now the courts can either keep in the civil courts or allow a trial by court martial but not both. Now if for instance u are AWOL and get a DUI. then you can get charged with the DUI in cvilian court and get UCMJ for AWOL. It will go in your service record as well as your BOP any way. Especially DUI- they are career enders' now a days. Also fighting is a career ender' its not like the old days... "GO TO WAR OR GO TO JAIL".

Here is an example, I had a SSG that got arrested by local cops for a concelled weapon after a tip off from his estranged wife. Nothing to do with the military, but the court in texas turned it over to the military for a trail by court martial.

Here is another example, I guy in my unit fell asleep at the wheel (no OUI) and drove into oncoming traffic and hit another car killing a family of four. he went to a civilian court- He got a military lawyer, to help his civilian lawyer with military affairs. he was ROR and placed on barracks restriction while in trial. I got out before i found out about the outcome.


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## ecpd402 (Sep 18, 2002)

Unless it has changes since I was an MP. the civilian police can only detain. They notify the local MP who in turn refer the matter to the JAG. the military decides whether to charge or send it to the civilian courts. Usually the civilian courts don't mind because the UCMJ punishments are far worse than a civilian court.


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## EOD1 (Mar 11, 2004)

ecpd402 said:


> Unless it has changes since I was an MP. the civilian police can only detain. They notify the local MP who in turn refer the matter to the JAG. the military decides whether to charge or send it to the civilian courts. Usually the civilian courts don't mind because the UCMJ punishments are far worse than a civilian court.


I think it might have changed. I seen a lot of DUI's and fights that occur off base and the MP's and JAG get involved some people call there chain of command some wait until they get out and go back to work. You gotta also figure the surrounding communitties PD's know what's going on so they might call. I remember working the CQ desk and had to send some1 to pick up a member of my CO. after he called me on the desk. I logged the event, called his squad leader who picked him up. It made up the chain of command and monday morning he was @ legal. @ no time was the MP's notified. I have also seen the locals hand off to the MP's, or DoD PD as the case may be & we were the last to know.
Hard to say i guess, maybe 1 of the DoD Officers can chime in here. I'v seen it happen both ways. Of course Its never happened to me personally so I might be missing a step.


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## id1811xecj (Jun 27, 2004)

ecpd402";p="51833 said:


> Unless it has changes since I was an MP. the civilian police can only detain. They notify the local MP who in turn refer the matter to the JAG. the military decides whether to charge or send it to the civilian courts. Usually the civilian courts don't mind because the UCMJ punishments are far worse than a civilian court.


You would be surprised at the leniency of court marital sentences. I would much rather be sentenced by a court martial than a civilian court for anything other than purely military offenses, ie UA. For example, ICE arrested a military member with child porn who would have gotten 5-10 years in federal court. He went to a Special Court Martial which has a max penalty of 1 yr. He got less.

The commands also routinely flush good cases for good soldiers/sailors.


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## DoD102 (Sep 9, 2004)

A military member can be arrested and charged by the civil authorities as well as courts martial procedures. This is not deemed double jeopardy under concurrent jurisdiction, UCMJ and RCM, Rules for Courts Martial under the Manual for Courts Martial, I believe Rule 302(b). This same Rule, and Art 7b, UCMJ gives military police the right to detain and/or apprehend. It also allows for the military member to face charges both civillay and in the military. Usually the civil court will let the military handle the charges.


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## DoD102 (Sep 9, 2004)

It doesn't teach us to spell correctly however :!:


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## redpara (Jun 7, 2004)

*Got this from a JAG officer today; "You can call the nerast military base as a courtesay. If the local PD is willing to let the military take jurisdiction, they would {keep in mind, this can get complicated} and the military would prosecute them. Alternatively, if the service member was prosecutedby a civilian judge and sent to jail, the service would administratively seperate him and he would likely get an other than honorable discharge."

That said, in our area the military is no longer well represented; you have Hanscomb AFB in Bedford MA (Westover is a Reserve base) Newport RI or New London CT.

Picking someone up who hits ad a deserter will get a diffrent responce, the ilitary will come get him!*


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## frapmpd24 (Sep 3, 2004)

redpara";p="52054 said:


> *Got this from a JAG officer today; "You can call the nerast military base as a courtesay. If the local PD is willing to let the military take jurisdiction, they would {keep in mind, this can get complicated} and the military would prosecute them. Alternatively, if the service member was prosecutedby a civilian judge and sent to jail, the service would administratively seperate him and he would likely get an other than honorable discharge."
> 
> That said, in our area the military is no longer well represented; you have Hanscomb AFB in Bedford MA (Westover is a Reserve base) Newport RI or New London CT.
> 
> Picking someone up who hits ad a deserter will get a diffrent responce, the ilitary will come get him!*


*

I have had a few of those deserters, one from the Army about a year ago. NCIC warrant was in the system for desertion and locked him up on a Fugitive from Justice charge becuase it carried a penalty of over a year. They were pleased to come and pick the young fella up. I have never run into the situation, but there is a specific M.G.L statute for deserters in the Massachusetts National Guard. If I find the chapter/section I will post it.*


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## luap112 (Jan 24, 2003)

I think there is. I can remember back in '96 or '97 When I was a SSO at my College and was dispatching one morning when a Lt. and a S/Sgt from either the National Guard or maybe Army Reserve came in with a State Trooper asked for the officer in charge. The OIC came in went over to the Dorm with MSP/ANG picked the kid up. Found out later he hadn't been to Drill in over 2 months. If I remember correctly the ANG or Army got a warrant for him had the state trooper make the actual arrest and then took Custody of the young lad. Can't quite remember since I wasn't actually in on the call just had to do the log note as to why MSP and the MAANG where on campus.


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## Guest (Jan 12, 2005)

GENERAL LAWS OF MASSACHUSETTS
PART I.
ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE V.
MILITIA

CHAPTER 33. MILITIA
IV. OPERATIONS AND TRAINING

Chapter 33: Section 61 Unit training periods; meetings of instruction for noncommissioned officers; frequency; arrests for absence without leave

Section 61. (a) In addition to the duty required by section thirty-eight, forty, forty-one, forty-two or sixty, every unit of the armed forces of the commonwealth shall assemble for training at least forty-eight times in each year, and oftener if so directed by the unit or organization commander. Organization drills and parades may be held in place of unit drills, and transportation to and from the place of such drills and parades shall be furnished for the units composing the organization, if authorized by the commander-in-chief.

(b) Organization and unit commanders may call meetings of instruction for the noncommissioned officers of their commands as they deem necessary.

(c) Any police officer authorized to make arrests within the commonwealth may apprehend without a warrant any member of the armed forces of the commonwealth absent without leave from any assembly for training under paragraph (a), meeting for instruction under paragraph (b) or training under service conditions under section sixty and keep him in custody, but for not more than twenty-four hours, until taken into custody by the armed forces of the commonwealth; provided, however, that such apprehension and such keeping in custody shall have been requested in writing by the commanding officer of any unit of said armed forces.


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## Guest (Jan 12, 2005)

I have actually used a written notice for apprehension by one of the MA National Guard MP CDRs. It was for one of his "Do I really have to go to drill" types. Easy process.


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## Dumptruck9 (Jan 25, 2005)

I served four years active duty in the USMC from '99-'03. I was stationed mostly in Washington DC for my entire enlistment. By the nature of my assignment it was imparitive that I keep a clean record. I would see many of my fellow service members get in trouble for DUI's. They were arrested, charged, and prosecuted by civilian authorities. They were punished in accordance with the laws of that area, often times it would be Fairfax County courts, since that's where most of us had appartments. I had one friend who had to serve his jail sentence on weekends. For 3 months I had to drop him off at the Fairfax County jail on Friday at 4:30pm and pick him up at midnight on Sunday. He had to pay his fines and take his classes and face a license suspension.

Now the military didn't hold him accountable for any of this since he faced a civilian punishment. He was however relieved from his current assignment because his record was now tarnished. No other punishment though.

It can go several ways. I've seen it in the past where a Marine has faced what we call "Double Jeopardy". Which is they face whatever charges, and punishment they get from a civilian court and then go in front of a courtmartial and get punished in accordance with the UCMJ. However, since it wasn't the military that arrested the person, there's only one charge they can give which is Article 34(I believe, not sure) which is Conduct Unbecoming.

I've also seen instances where a Judge cut a break to a Marine, and then his commander turned around and gave the harshest punishment of NJP (Non Judicial Punishment) they could. But again, they couldn't bring the individual to courtmartial because they were not the ones that arrested this individual.

Sorry for the Novel, just sharing my experience. Personally I wouldn't hesitate to arrest and charge military personnel because usually, and I'm not saying always, their command refrains from heavy punishment if they know that the civilian courts are charging the individual to the fullest extent. Also the extent of my knowledge here is only in regards to civilian misdemenors. I've never really seen or heard what goes on when it's a serious crime or AWOL, desertion, etc.


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