On Monday, Schuylkill County District Attorney Mike O'Pake hosted a symposium for the County police force.
Over 60 members of law enforcement attended the event at the Pottsville Zone in Pottsville including State Troopers from the Frackville and Schuylkill Haven barracks, and local police officers from Butler Township, Ashland, Frackville, Shenandoah, Tamaqua, West Penn Township, Cass Township, Saint Clair, Mahanoy City, East Union Township, and Kline Township.
The speakers for the event was Nate Boob, the Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor for Pennsylvania, along with Andy Gonzalez, from the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.
Gonzalez is the Chief of Trials and Appeals for Lancaster County and is also the first prosecutor in not just Pennsylvania, but in the Country, to complete the Drug Recognition Expert certification process.The first part of their presentation focused on roadside search and seizure issues, like how to properly stop a vehicle, the constitutionality of what an officer can and can't do, and conducting investigations along the roadside. Boob said across the State of Pennsylvania there are a lot of legal and constitutional issues currently during traffic stops.
The second part of the presentation was focused on case law updates in regards to Supreme Court cases.
District Attorney O'Pake said he has wanted to hold one these events for many years but was unable to do so due to the pandemic.
O'Pake said he receives updates from Boob and Gonzalez all the time, and passes them onto the Chiefs and leaders in law enforcement around the county.
"Andy and Nate send me updates on case law, that is always evolving. I'm getting more and more of these updates, and I thought it was an ideal time to get everyone together and give the officers the opportunity to ask questions. This is just another way I can use the District Attorney's office to keep the community safe." District Attorney O'Pake said.
