Can The Sheriff’s Office Legally Pull You Over In Massachusetts? Arrest You?

Berkshire County Sheriff Tom Bowler had a chance to sit down with us on "Slater and Marjo In The Morning" on Wednesday to discuss some promotions at the jail and to talk Christmas and the holidays for people who are incarcerated.

On an unrelated note, I was traveling down Rte. 8 over the summer when I noticed I was being tailgated. Badly. Now, I can be known to tailgate slower drivers, but I was certainly not going slow. This guy either had an emergency his hands or he was just a being a jerk.

Ironically, as soon as I pulled over to the right, he came screaming past me only to be pulled over about 30 seconds later. Of course, I felt immediate vindication. I had nothing to do with him being pulled over, I just felt satisfied I guess as he was really making me mad for following so closely.

So, here's the thing. The cruiser that pulled him over after the tailgating driver was spotted, was a Sheriff's office vehicle. I was a little perplexed as I had never seen this before.

Can The Sheriff's Office Legally Pull You Over In Massachusetts? Arrest You?

Naturally, I had to ask Bowler the deal with this type of thing. In fact, any Sheriff or Deputy Sheriff in Massachusetts absolutely legally can pull you over and/or arrest you if the situation calls for it. It's not the primary role of the Sheriff's office, of course, but they do have and can exercise those powers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.