That's the thing though, it is a fairly small department, and they don't have any unmarked SUVs, only cars. I know for a fact that he is not a detective or a reserve officer, either. He is just a normal patrolman. From talking to the family friend in the dept. he said that the guy with the Suburban wanted to drive it because it wasn't a CVPI. The cop is also one of those that if you're doing 36 in a 35 zone, he will stop you, write you up for all he can find, and go to court to fight your appeal. I understand that you break the law by going 36 in a 35, but that's a bit ridiculous. 

As many others have said already it depends on department policy. Some departments allow that, especially if it is a small department because that allows their officers to be available more often. In the state of Hawaii they actually give officers a choice between using their POVs as patrol cars or using the department owned vehicles. They do it to cut down on fleet maintenance costs and just pay the officer a stipend if they elect to use their POV. http://www.policecarwebsite.net/yet/rwcar4o/hon.html

 

The short answer to your original question is no. I don't know what the state law is in PA but I doubt they have a law that says agencies can't allow their officers to use their POVs as police vehicles.

 

One question;

Supposing an off-duty cop has driven his family to the store (using a marked vehicle) & is returning back trunk full of groceries.

And he finds someone severely speeding. He pulls him over, but then that guy takes off, resulting in a high-speed chase.

Now, until when will that off-duty cop be part of that chase? Until another unit can catch up? (I'm assuming he has to stop at some point, because he's basically putting his family in danger too)

The officer probably would not initiate the traffic stop in the first place. Most agencies have a policy that says you cannot respond to calls, perform traffic stops, or make any other unnecessary stop while you are transporting a prisoner in your vehicle and in some agencies that policy could include other passengers you have in your vehicle. However, if the officer did decide to perform a traffic stop while his family was in his vehicle he probably wouldn't go on a high speed chase due to the safety concerns, not to mention most agencies now days have policies against engaging in a vehicle pursuit unless the suspect has committed a violent felony. There is no easy answer to your question because there are too many variables to take into consideration.

That's the thing though, it is a fairly small department, and they don't have any unmarked SUVs, only cars. I know for a fact that he is not a detective or a reserve officer, either. He is just a normal patrolman. From talking to the family friend in the dept. he said that the guy with the Suburban wanted to drive it because it wasn't a CVPI. The cop is also one of those that if you're doing 36 in a 35 zone, he will stop you, write you up for all he can find, and go to court to fight your appeal. I understand that you break the law by going 36 in a 35, but that's a bit ridiculous.

Well I'm not sure what to tell you the department is the one who allows or doesnt allow this type of action. Being a small department if they may allow him to use a personal vehicle then hes allowed. As far as being a strict cop I dont know how any judge would allow him to do what he does. By the law technicly yes he can pull you over and ticket you after going 1mph over the limit. However many courts refuse to allow cops to do this and throw out the tickets because its too easy to say the person just went over for one second. This is where the myth of being allowed to go 5 over limit came from. Many departments require you to be well over the limit prior to pulling you over so there is no question that you were speeding.

That's the thing though, it is a fairly small department, and they don't have any unmarked SUVs, only cars. I know for a fact that he is not a detective or a reserve officer, either. He is just a normal patrolman. From talking to the family friend in the dept. he said that the guy with the Suburban wanted to drive it because it wasn't a CVPI. The cop is also one of those that if you're doing 36 in a 35 zone, he will stop you, write you up for all he can find, and go to court to fight your appeal. I understand that you break the law by going 36 in a 35, but that's a bit ridiculous. 

 

There are a couple mounties around my area that do that, sheer boredom & nothing better to do.