Friday, April 4, 2008

Citizen's Arrest

Someone asked me the other day if it is legal in Michigan to make a citizen's arrest. The simple answer is yes, it is. According to MCL746.16 :

A private person may make an arrest: (1) for a felony committed in his presence; (2) if the person to be arrested has committed a felony, although not in his presence; (3) if he is summoned by a peace officer to assist the officer in making the arrest; or (4) if he is a merchant, an agent or employee of a merchant, or an independent contractor providing security for a merchant, of a store and has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has violated certain laws in that store, regardless whether the violation was committed in the presence of the private person.

The more complicated issue is whether you should. Arresting a felon is a difficult, and often dangerous job even for a trained law enforcement officer. I would not recommend it except in very specific circumstances - such as you are convinced that this person will injure or kill innocent people if you let him go. Remember, as a civilian, you have no legal duty to apprehend this felon. Generally, my recommendation is to be the best possible witness and to notify the authorities as quickly as possible. If you do feel this person is a threat than the prudent thing to do would be to detain him (at gunpoint if you must) and wait for law enforcement to arrive. Trying to handcuff or tie him up is extremely dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.

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