City of Cleveland v. Payne

Citations

• 72 Ohio St. (N.S.) 347

Syllabus

<p>Police department of municipal corporation derives authority from the state — Municipal corporation cannot enlarge or 4 restrict duties of officers — Without legislative authority— Rule requiring police to note defects in street — Not necessarily notice to city, when — Municipal law — Law of negligence.</p> <p>1. The police department of a municipal corporation derives its authority from the state; and when such corporation is not expressly or by necessary implication authorized to do so, it can neither enlarge nor restrict the duties of such department or its officers and agents as defined by the general assembly.</p> <p>2. When it does not appear that there is any act of the legislature authorizing a municipal corporation to prescribe the duties of a policeman and to make him an agent of the corporation in respect to its duty of keeping its streets open and in repair, or when the legislature has conferred such power upon the corporation and it does not appear that the council of such municipal corporation has, by ordinance or resolution, so prescribed the duties of a policeman and so made him its . agent for such purpose, a rule of the police department which requires a policeman to note defects in the streets or sidewalks and to remove them when practicable, and in case of a complaint by any citizen to report the same, is irrelevant and incompetent as evidence to charge such corporation with notice of a defect in the street or sidewalk, although it is shown in connection therewith that a policeman had knowledge of such defect.</p>