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You Can Defend Yourself against Excessive Force in a Citizen's Arrest

By Walin & Klarich

In a recent California Appellate Court decision, the court determined that a person who is being subjected to a ?citizen?s arrest? may use self-defense if he or she reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger of excessive force by the arresting citizen. A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official. For example, a citizen?s arrest would occur when your neighbor, who is not a sworn law-enforcement official, takes you into custody for stealing his lawnmower. A citizen has the right to do this if he or she reasonable believes that you, in fact, did steal the lawnmower. In People v. Adams, the defendant was subjected to a citizen?s arrest in which he resisted with force. He was then charged with a crime for assaulting the person who had attempted to place him under citizen?s arrest...continue to full post

Full post as published by Southern California Criminal Defense Blog on December 18, 2009 (boomark / email).