William and Elaine Walcott were driving down West Meadow Road in Old Field Village in February, returning from their nearby beach cottage, when they were pulled over by someone who looked a lot like a police officer.

The uniformed man told Walcott he had clocked him doing 41 mph in a 30-mph zone and wrote him a ticket, which referred to the ticket-giver as a “PO” and appeared as though it originated from a sector of Suffolk's Sixth Precinct.

"He certainly gave the impression of a policeman. He had a gun on his hip, a uniform, and the flashing red light. So I pulled over,” said Walcott, 69, from Stony Brook, who denies he was speeding. He said he went to the village court three times before paying a $55 fine and pleading guilty to a seatbelt violation.

As it turns out, the man who ticketed Walcott wasn't a police officer. According to a federal lawsuit-in which Walcott is a plaintiff-he was a village constable who exceeded his authority and gave out the tickets illegally.

In fact, the suit says, the Old Field constables, a small group of people who supposedly enforce the village's codes, regularly exceed their authority by enforcing state vehicle and traffic laws.

"Every time a motorist is stopped by someone purporting to be a peace officer or a police officer, and in fact that person is unauthorized, it violates the constitutional rights of the motorist,” said Jonathan Scott, the Melville attorney who has brought a class-action suit against the village, filed in federal court in Central Islip in October. He estimates the village illegally gives out between 300 and 500 traffic tickets per year.

The federal lawsuit against Old Field Village was brought by three people who were pulled over in the village, all by the same officer, for allegedly speeding. It claims that this constable and others were illegally assuming duties of a county officer.

Philip Robilotto, Chief of Department for the Suffolk police, said if these part-time code enforcement officers are police officers elsewhere, it's possible they have the authority to give out speeding tickets. But, generally, he said, “There is a police department for the Village of Old Field and that department is the Suffolk County Police Department. We enforce the traffic laws down there."

Old Field is among several villages that maintain similar constable forces, including Patchogue, Belle Terre, Port Jefferson and Poquott. Officials from Patchogue and Port Jefferson say most of their department members are full-time or retired law enforcement professionals who, in their capacity as part-time constables, don't go beyond enforcing village codes. Officials from Belle Terre and Poquott could not be reached for comment.

The allure of having a constable force, or a local public safety department, is that they cater to village residents only, enforce codes that affect the quality of life of residents, and monitor the presence of outsiders.

But the existence of such public safety officials have been a source of legal battles in both Nassau and Suffolk counties, as villages have tried to revoke their initial decisions to merge with the counties' police districts.

In 1984, the Court of Appeals ruled that a village constable force in Woodsburgh was not legal because village officials had decided, in 1937, to merge with Nassau County's police district.

In 1958, the Suffolk County police district was created by referendum and its jurisdiction extended to the five western towns, including Brookhaven. But in 1966, the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court ruled that Port Jefferson could not create its own police force, by virtue of incorporating as a village. And as recently as 1997, the Appellate Division ruled that the village's constable force was not a “duly authorized law enforcement agency.” Vincent Fontana of Manhattan, who represents the Village of Old Field, said the person who pulled over the three plaintiffs named in the lawsuit for speeding was one of two park rangers employed part-time by the village, who, under state law, can give out tickets for moving violations. He said the constables are a separate group who enforce village codes only.

The suit also states that the constables receive no law enforcement or weapons training from the village, yet carry 9-mm. automatic pistols. Moreover, Scott said, the constables can be rented out to village residents for parties.

Fontana said the rangers are part-time but receive law enforcement and weapons training from their other jobs, but he could not specify the nature of those jobs. He said the two rangers carry their weapons with civilian permits and he had not determined whether they have peace officer status. Fontana said he was still investigating the case but could not provide specifics on weapons permits, training or number of constables employed by the village but said they enforce village codes, such as noise ordinances, littering or parking rules.

Robilotto, who said he has personally met with village officials over the issue, said he has no problem with the village having its own constable force. “If they are willing to pay for it, they are entitled to it,” he said. “Where we have a problem,” he said, “is when they start violating the law by pulling people over."