§24A-7-6. Duty of prosecuting attorneys and law-enforcement officers to enforce chapter; regulatory authority of commission; qualifications of commission employees designated as commercial vehicle enforcement officers.

It shall be the duty of the West Virginia State Police and the sheriffs of the counties in West Virginia to make arrests and the duty of the prosecuting attorneys of the several counties to prosecute all violations of this chapter and of other chapters governing the regulatory authority of the commission. The commission employees designated as commercial vehicle enforcement officers shall have the same authority as law-enforcement officers to enforce the provisions of this chapter and the provisions of other chapters of this code governing the regulatory authority of the commission as such provisions apply to entities and persons regulated by the commission in any county or city of this state. Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, such commercial vehicle enforcement officers may carry handguns in the course of their official duties after meeting specialized qualifications established by the Governor’s committee on crime, delinquency and correction, which qualifications shall include the successful completion of handgun training, including a minimum of four hours training in handgun safety, paid for by the commission and comparable to the handgun training provided to law-enforcement officers by the West Virginia State Police: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed to include the commission within the meaning of law-enforcement officers within the meaning of law-enforcement agency, as defined in section one, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code.