Somerset Bank v. Edmund

Citations

• 76 Ohio St. (N.S.) 396

Syllabus

<p>Remuneration of public officer — Only such permitted as allowed by law — Arrest of felon by constable — Latter not entitled to reward, when — Law of public service.</p> <p>1. Public policy and sound morals alike forbid that a public officer should demand or receive for services performed by him in the discharge of official duty, any other or further remuneration or reward than that prescribed and allowed by law.</p> <p>2. The office of constable is not an office created for the private emolument of the holder. Every constable is a conservator of the peace, and it is his duty, within his jurisdiction, “to apprehend and bring to justice all felons and disturbers and violators of the criminal laws of, the state,” without other reward or compensation therefor than such as is fixed and allowed by law.</p> <p>3. A constable who, within his jurisdiction, arrests a person who has committed a felony, will, in making the arrest, be presumed and held to act in his official capacity, whether such arrest be made by him under, or without a warrant. And the law will not permit him to claim that an arrest made, pursuant to official duty, was made by him in his individual capacity as a private citizen.</p>