Sec. 29-22. Volunteer police auxiliary force.

The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection is authorized to recruit, train and organize a volunteer police auxiliary force for the purpose of providing emergency services throughout the state for peacetime or wartime emergencies or threatened emergencies and for augmenting the state police force in such manner as the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection may deem appropriate. Such volunteer police auxiliary force shall at all times be under the direction of said commissioner and subject to the rules and regulations of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. The total membership of the auxiliary force shall not exceed in number twice the number of sworn state police personnel appointed pursuant to section 29-4. Such auxiliary force may be equipped with uniforms prescribed by the commissioner and delegated special police powers for specific emergency police duties. The commissioner may, within available appropriations, provide subsistence and maintenance to the volunteer police auxiliary force when called to duty. In the event of participation in emergency services, the members of the volunteer police auxiliary force shall have the same immunities and privileges as apply to the organized militia and to the regular members of the Division of State Police. All members of the volunteer police auxiliary force shall be compensated for death, disability or injury incurred while in training for or on auxiliary state police duty under the provisions of this section as follows: (1) Employees of the state, municipalities or political subdivisions of the state who are members of the volunteer police auxiliary force and for whom such compensation is provided by any provision of existing law shall be construed to be acting within the scope of their employment while in training for or engaged in auxiliary state police duty and shall be compensated in accordance with the provisions of chapter 568 and sections 5-142 and 5-144. (2) Any persons who are engaged in regular employment apart and separate from their duties as members of the volunteer police auxiliary force and for whom such compensation is not so provided shall, while in training for or engaged in duties under the provisions of this section, be construed to be employees of the state for the purpose of chapter 568 and sections 5-142 and 5-144, and shall be compensated by the state in accordance with the provisions of said chapter and sections.

(1951, S. 1990d; 1963, P.A. 618; P.A. 77-614, S. 486, 610; P.A. 96-230, S. 1, 3; P.A. 11-51, S. 134; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 244.)

History: 1963 act clarified provisions, authorized use of auxiliary force for “peace time or war time emergencies or threatened emergencies and for augmenting the state police force ...” where previously its use was for “disasters caused by fires, explosions or floods and for such threatened disasters” and added references to compensation under Secs. 5-142 and 5-144; P.A. 77-614 made state police department a division within the department of public safety and replaced commissioner of state police with commissioner of public safety, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 96-230 made technical change, specifying that aid to volunteer police auxiliary forces be “within available appropriations”, effective July 1, 1996; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Commissioner of Public Safety” and “Department of Public Safety” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection” and “Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection”, respectively, effective July 1, 2011; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1 replaced “twice the authorized strength prescribed in section 29-4 for the state police” with “twice the number of sworn state police personnel appointed pursuant to section 29-4” re total membership, effective June 15, 2012.