Clonus Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Toward the start of Civil War I heard a couple of guys talking about the unrealism of giving out police powers to members of an NGO, how it would never happen if the power fairy started tapping people with her magic wand. You know how it is when you find out about the perfect counter-example two years after the argument? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad_police Yes, people belonging to a railroad's security division are legally cops anywhere in California even if there's no operating railroad within a hundred miles! Awesome! More importantly there's the precedent. A state governor can pretty much declare anyone a cop for his entire jurisdiction even though they aren't on any government payroll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... Ngo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted July 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... Non-Governmental Organisation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... ok thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... I was wondering who the hell these people are. I was almost given a ticket by the Railroad Police. Seriously. My crime? Walking on the tracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiducia Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... I was wondering who the hell these people are. I was almost given a ticket by the Railroad Police. Seriously. My crime? Walking on the tracks. Well you don't want to get hit by an oncoming train do you?! I mean that would be bad. Shades of Fried Green Tomatoes. SQUISH!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... I would have to be superhumanly distracted to not notice a train coming. Blind and deaf people know the train is coming. The people who get hit by trains aren't the ones who get caught by surprise, they're the morons who try to jump out of the way at the last second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh bunneh Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... Railroads are odd creatures in US law. Most railroad laws were written back in the 19th century, when the rail barons could literally buy senators and congressmen. And these days there's no political will (or money) to get the laws changed to something more reasonable. My hometown tried to get one of the tracks that went right through the center of town moved -- the problem was, long cargo trains went through town multiple times a day, and our only police station and hospital were on one side of the tracks, so in emergencies if a train was going through town, the cops and the ambulances simply couldn't get through. Know what the railroads said? "Too bad for you." The town ended up having to build a secondary hospital and copshop on the other side of the tracks. So yeah, I have no doubt that the railroads can appoint their own police force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teflon Billy Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... I would have to be superhumanly distracted to not notice a train coming. Blind and deaf people know the train is coming. The people who get hit by trains aren't the ones who get caught by surprise' date=' they're the morons who try to jump out of the way at the last second.[/quote']The number of fatalities each year of pedestrians struck by trains make it pretty clear that walking on, along, down, or even looking cross-eyed at train tracks should be avoided. I had to cross an active set of tracks every day on my way to college on my bike, it always made me a little nervous. TB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoutybloke Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... I would have to be superhumanly distracted to not notice a train coming. Blind and deaf people know the train is coming. The people who get hit by trains aren't the ones who get caught by surprise' date=' they're the morons who try to jump out of the way at the last second.[/quote'] The thing is, laws aren't meant fo sane and inteligent people like you or I. They have to be written so there's a hard and fast rule for the idiots to follow, which then has to aqpply to everyone so the idiots can't point and say "well, he's doing it!" when they do something idiotic and out of context. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... I've used the bounty hunter law for my superheroes. A bounty hunter had a great deal of latitude in bring in wanted criminals. Superheroes stopping crimes in progress or diasters are protected by good samaritan laws. And since a masked crimefighter is not going to collect on a bounty, most cities would be happy for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... I've used the bounty hunter law for my superheroes. A bounty hunter had a great deal of latitude in bring in wanted criminals. Superheroes stopping crimes in progress or diasters are protected by good samaritan laws. And since a masked crimefighter is not going to collect on a bounty' date=' most cities would be happy for the help.[/quote'] You know...as a slight twist, a champeign could assume that all bounties go to some kind of fund set up for rebuilding after super fights, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... Exactly. Cities would not only collect the bounty, but won't have to pay for the capture of extremely dangerous criminals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... I've used the bounty hunter law for my superheroes. A bounty hunter had a great deal of latitude in bring in wanted criminals. Superheroes stopping crimes in progress or diasters are protected by good samaritan laws. And since a masked crimefighter is not going to collect on a bounty' date=' most cities would be happy for the help.[/quote'] too bad joe quesada and his writers didn't know that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narratio Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... Add it to the list of things that Joe Q and his crew know little about. Where do the 'Citizen's Arrest' laws fall in all this? Is it legal to smack the heck out of Mr.Hyde just because he took a swing at you and missed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Weapon Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 Re: A precedent for Avengers/JLA style law enforcement powers... Add it to the list of things that Joe Q and his crew know little about. Where do the 'Citizen's Arrest' laws fall in all this? Is it legal to smack the heck out of Mr.Hyde just because he took a swing at you and missed? That's two completely unrelated questions. Firstly citizens arrest, if you reasonably believe that a crime is being committed or someone is fleeing from lawful arrest. However you are under strict liability, so you'd better be sure that they're guilty because making a reasonable mistake can get you sued/arrested. This summary is a massive simplification of the law which differs in many US states and in other jurisdictions. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_arrest#United_States Now about smacking the heck out of Mr. Hyde, do you reasonably believe Mr. Hyde can hurt you? After all in the Champions universe there are people who can afford to ignore .45s pointed at their head. Is the force you're using against him what a reasonable person would use? The equivelent of a tank gun against someone who tried to right hook you is not reasonable, unless his right hook could be considered a lethal weapon to you and there is nothing more proportionate you could use. Or if a tank gun is eqivelently dangerous to him as a right hook is to you. Being as it's a stressful situation however you get some leeway. Nobody assumes you can make precise decisions on the amount of force neccesary in a split second. Of course in Heroland this may differ if people know you're the type of person who can actually do that. Or if a self-righteous or corrupt prosecutor convinces them you are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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