423.076 Director's authority to grant peace officer power to corrections
officer.
(1) The Director of the Department of Corrections may grant to an individual
corrections officer or classification of corrections officer all the powers
and authority of a peace officer over inmates.
(2) A corrections officer granted the authority of a peace officer under
subsection (1) of this section shall have the authority to:
(a) Prevent an escape from the grounds of a correctional facility by an
inmate; and
(b) Go beyond the grounds of a correctional facility to:
(A) Pursue an inmate if the inmate is in the act of escaping from a
correctional facility;
(B) Search for an inmate if the inmate is in the act of escaping from a
correctional facility; and
(C) Recapture an inmate if the inmate is in the act of escaping from a
correctional facility.
(3) A corrections officer who has been granted the authority of a peace
officer under subsection (1) of this section shall retain the authority until
the law enforcement agency having general jurisdiction over the area in which
the escape or attempted escape of the inmate took place assumes responsibility
for recapture of the inmate.
(4) The Department of Corrections shall inform the appropriate law enforcement
agency of an escape or attempted escape of an inmate as soon as is reasonably
practicable.
(5) As used in this section, “inmate” means a person sentenced to a period
of incarceration in a prison or other correctional facility until such time as
a lawful release authority authorizes the release of the person. [1991 c.879
s.1]