The Texas Supreme Court has held that a deputy sheriff who was killed in an accident while driving his marked patrol vehicle home from an extra-duty assignment was acting within the course and scope of employment because he was engaged in a law enforcement activity. The case is Orozco v. Cty. of El Paso, 63 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 607 (2020).
Ruben Orozco, a sergeant with the El Paso County Sheriff's Department, was killed instantly when a wheel from another vehicle came loose and crashed through his patrol car windshield. At the time of his death, Orozco was assigned to a patrol division and was a leader on the department's crisis negotiation team. He was assigned a marked patrol car as a take-home vehicle due to his rank and work on the crisis team.
The night of the accident, Orozco was not scheduled to work for the sheriff's department, but was instead working an extra-duty assignment at a football game at the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP). In the El Paso County Sheriff's Policy Manual, "extra-duty employment" is defined as "secondary employment in which the actual or potential use of law enforcement powers is anticipated." "Outside employment" is defined as another type of secondary employment "in which the use of law enforcement powers is not anticipated." In order to participate in either type of secondary employment, the employee had to obtain approval from the sheriff through the chain of command. When participating in extra-duty employment, employees were required to "operate under all applicable policies and procedures of the Department." The employees could use department vehicles only for extra-duty employment, and only if the employee had obtained approval from the division commander.