(1) The Director may authorize Agency personnel within the United States to perform the same functions as officers and agents of the Department of Homeland Security, as provided in section 1315(b)(2) of title 40, with the powers set forth in that section, except that such personnel shall perform such functions and exercise such powers—
(A) within the Agency Headquarters Compound and the property controlled and occupied by the Federal Highway Administration located immediately adjacent to such Compound;
(B) in the streets, sidewalks, and the open areas within the zone beginning at the outside boundary of such Compound and property and extending outward 500 feet;
(C) within any other Agency installation and protected property; and
(D) in the streets, sidewalks, and open areas within the zone beginning at the outside boundary of any installation or property referred to in subparagraph (C) and extending outward 500 feet.
(2) The performance of functions and exercise of powers under subparagraph (B) or (D) of paragraph (1) shall be limited to those circumstances where such personnel can identify specific and articulable facts giving such personnel reason to believe that the performance of such functions and exercise of such powers is reasonable to protect against physical damage or injury, or threats of physical damage or injury, to Agency installations, property, or employees.
(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to preclude, or limit in any way, the authority of any Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency, or any other Federal police or Federal protective service.
(4) The rules and regulations enforced by such personnel shall be the rules and regulations prescribed by the Director and shall only be applicable to the areas referred to in subparagraph (A) or (C) of paragraph (1).
The Director is authorized to establish penalties for violations of the rules or regulations promulgated by the Director under subsection (a) of this section. Such penalties shall not exceed those specified in section 1315(c)(2) of title 40.
Agency personnel designated by the Director under subsection (a) of this section shall be clearly identifiable as United States Government security personnel while engaged in the performance of the functions to which subsection (a) of this section refers.
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any Agency personnel designated by the Director under subsection (a) of this section, or designated by the Director under section 3506(a)(4) of this title to carry firearms for the protection of current or former Agency personnel and their immediate families, defectors and their immediate families, and other persons in the United States under Agency auspices, shall be considered for purposes of chapter 171 of title 28, or any other provision of law relating to tort liability, to be acting within the scope of their office or employment when such Agency personnel take reasonable action, which may include the use of force, to—
(A) protect an individual in the presence of such Agency personnel from a crime of violence;
(B) provide immediate assistance to an individual who has suffered or who is threatened with bodily harm; or
(C) prevent the escape of any individual whom such Agency personnel reasonably believe to have committed a crime of violence in the presence of such Agency personnel.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not affect the authorities of the Attorney General under section 2679 of title 28.
(3) In this subsection, the term "crime of violence" has the meaning given that term in section 16 of title 18.
(June 20, 1949, ch. 227, §15, as added Pub. L. 98–473, title I, §140, Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 1973, and Pub. L. 98–618, title IV, §401, Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3301; amended Pub. L. 105–107, title IV, §404, Nov. 20, 1997, 111 Stat. 2260; Pub. L. 107–306, title VIII, §841(d), Nov. 27, 2002, 116 Stat. 2432; Pub. L. 108–177, title III, §377(b)(3), title IV, §402, Dec. 13, 2003, 117 Stat. 2630, 2631.)
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Last modified: October 26, 2015