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Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm US/Central
Good Question: Can You Make A Citizen's Arrest?
(WCCO)
When it comes to making an arrest, most of us prefer to leave things to the professionals. But is a "citizen's arrest" a real thing, or is it just something we see on TV and in the movies?
"The way some people drive on the freeways is a crime," said Jan Wall, a Litchfield woman in a video e-mail sent to WCCO. "Tell me who can make a citizen's arrest and under what circumstances."
"There absolutely is such a thing as a citizen's arrest," said Brooklyn Park Police Capt. Craig Enevoldsen.
State law provides for citizen's arrests, as do most municipal codes, and it happens all the time.
"We incorporate citizen's arrests quite often during the course of one day," said Enevoldsen.
According to Enevoldsen, there are only a couple categories of misdemeanors where police officers can take a suspect into custody and lock him up. When officers don't personally witness a misdemeanor, they can still file a complaint, but they can't make an arrest.
"We would have to have [a witness] fill out a form, technically making a citizen's arrest, before we take someone into custody," explained Enevoldsen.
"You can make an arrest for an offense in your presence, and for felonies in some cases, not in your presence," he said. "The statute also allows for you to use force to affect a citizen's arrest."
Shoplifting is one of the most common uses of citizen's arrests, according to Enevoldsen. Often, security guards or loss prevention employees at retail stores will make a citizen's arrest, allowing officers to put the suspect in jail and set a first appearance court date.
Without the citizen's arrest, the case would go to prosecutors to set a first court appearance, and that could create a backload of cases for those offices.
Enevoldsen said that, in general, citizens cannot arrest people for crimes that police officers wouldn't take someone into custody. For example, you wouldn't arrest someone for running a red light or jaywalking.
But you might make a citizen's arrest for reckless driving or simple assault.
Different cities have different procedures. According to the Minneapolis Police Department's arrests and prosecution policies, "Officers shall determine whether the circumstances justify taking the accused into custody," when they respond to a citizen's arrest. "If officers feel that the arrest is illegal, the officer shall refer the complainant to the City Attorney's Office."
The reality often doesn't match the cinematic version of citizen's arrests.
"There's not a lot of you stop, I chase you down and tackle you. There's a lot more of follow it at a distance, then get police here to make the apprehension," Enevoldsen said.
It's critical to be sure that the person you're detaining actually did something wrong.
"Before you were to go and use force on anther citizen you would obviously have to be quite sure a crime has been committed ... Otherwise you're committing an assault," said Enevoldsen.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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