DOVER, Del. (AP) - Delaware's state Senate is ready to vote on legislation asserting that county sheriffs and their deputies do not have arrest powers.
The bill, which passed the House overwhelmingly last month and is on the Senate agenda Thursday, is a response to recent actions by the Sussex County sheriff.
Sheriff Jeff Christopher argues that as "conservators of the peace" under Delaware's constitution of 1897, sheriffs are law enforcement officers with the authority to arrest people and make traffic stops.
But the attorney general's office has issued several nonbinding opinions concluding that sheriffs, whose normal duties include serving court papers and conducting property sales, do not have police powers. Sussex County officials also have told Christopher he cannot engage in law enforcement activities.
