What constitutes reasonable force depends on the circumstances. If you are concerned about how much force a police officer has used to arrest you and your case goes to court, a Judge or Magistrate can rule on whether or not it was reasonable.
If you actively resist arrest, you can be charged with the offence of resisting police in the execution of their duty or even assaulting police in the execution of their duty. Even if you believe you have not done anything wrong, the police may still arrest you in the circumstances listed above. The arrest, however, must be lawful and must not involve the use of excessive force.
If you are not under arrest, the police can stop and search you if they suspect on reasonable grounds that you are carrying items such as stolen goods, prohibited drugs, dangerous articles or something that is used or intended to be used in connection with an offence, for example, implements that could be used to carry out a burglary. The police can pat you down, look in your pockets or bags, and search your car.
They can only strip-search you when they believe it is serious and urgent, and there are strict rules they must follow to ensure your privacy. The police do not need a warrant to search you in any of these circumstances. The quintessential example involves the use of handcuffs and an advisement that the suspect is under arrest.
See How do I know if I've been arrested? Investigatory stops or "detentions" must be no longer than necessary and officers must investigate with the least intrusive means that are reasonably available.
When an officer prolongs a detention beyond what is brief and cursory and broadens it, then the detention may turn into a de facto arrest—that is, an actual but not official arrest.
If a reasonable person in the suspect's position would have considered the police's behavior to constitute the kind of restraint that's typical of formal arrest, then an arrest has occurred. Some courts phrase the issue as depending on whether, after brief questioning, a reasonable innocent person would have felt free to leave—if not, there's been an arrest.
Johnson v. Bay Area Rapid Transit Dist. Courts consider a variety of factors in determining whether a detention has ripened into an arrest, among them:. Although the extent to which officers restrain and intrude upon the suspect are key to the determination, there's no bright line indicating the point at which a detention becomes an arrest. For instance, the use of handcuffs doesn't automatically signal an arrest where there are concerns for officer or public safety.
In one case, officers handcuffed a suspect and placed him in the back of a squad car while they searched a house he had just visited. The appeals court held that their actions didn't turn the detention into an arrest because they needed to avoid an escape attempt and to take precautions against potential violence.
The court also found that it made sense to take the suspect back to the house because they knew that the search they were about to begin could implicate him. United States v. Bullock , F. Two plain-clothes detectives at Miami International Airport notice Brandon. His clothes, luggage, and behavior cause them to suspect that he's a drug courier. The detectives approach him and identify themselves, and Brandon agrees to speak with them.
The detectives determine that Brandon is flying under an assumed name and notice that he is becoming increasingly nervous. They then inform him that they are actually narcotics investigators and that they suspect him of transporting drugs.
The detectives, with Brandon's airline ticket and driver's license in hand, ask their suspect to accompany them to a room 40 feet away. Brandon says nothing but goes with the officers.
The detectives, without permission, take Brandon's luggage and bring it to the small interrogation room, where they ask whether he'll consent to a search. Brandon acquiesces, and the officers find cocaine in each suitcase. Approximately 15 minutes had elapsed from the time the detectives first approached Brandon until they found the drugs. Under these circumstances, the officers' removing Brandon from the public area and putting him in the investigation room constituted an arrest.
At that point, the facts supported reasonable suspicion to justify a temporary detention, but not probable cause for an arrest. And since there wasn't probable cause for the arrest, Brandon's consent to the search was invalid, in turn meaning that the cocaine evidence is inadmissible. Invoke your rights! Say, "I wish to remain silent and I would like to talk to a lawyer.
People often say, "I don't want to talk" and then they start talking, say something incriminating, and it gets used against them in court. You can tell police your name and basic information, such as your address and birth date, but do not tell them anything else.
After your arrest, do not talk to police officers, do not talk to family or friends about your case, and do not talk to other inmates. Police are trained to tease out incriminating information, and other inmates may chat you up in the hopes that you will tell them something that they can turn over to police in order to secure a better deal for themselves.
You should also assume that any conversations you have in jail with visitors, whether in person or over the phone, are being recorded and monitored. Your conversations with your lawyer are confidential, however, and you and your lawyer can decide what you should say, if anything, to police.
In most states, you are entitled to a phone call to your family, a bail bondsman, and an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, a public defender will be provided for you. You should memorize the numbers of a few people to call in case you are arrested. Police will probably not let you use your cell phone to make calls.
Again, assume that any calls you make from a police station or jail are recorded — unless the call is to your lawyer. Being arrested can be unpleasant and stressful. Oftentimes, people just want to get out of jail and think that if they just explain the situation or cooperate, the police will let them go. Police officers may even say something to that effect. Do not try to talk your way out of jail, or make any decisions about your case, without first talking to a lawyer.
Do not participate in a lineup, or do anything else with regards to your case, until you see a lawyer.
If you are arrested and charged with a crime, you are entitled to the assistance of an attorney. You should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney or the local public defender's office to talk about your case. An attorney will be able to tell you how your case is likely to fare in court and what to expect as you navigate the criminal justice system.
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