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Old August 11, 2009, 02:25 AM   #51
Dr Raoul Duke
Junior member
 
Join Date: August 8, 2009
Location: On the Left Coast of North America
Posts: 104
Quote:
simply being a citizen under common law is what provides one with the authority to make an arrest
That may be the way it works in Texas, but it may not be so in other States. One problem with your comment for people in California is that in this State there is no "common" law. Example: no "common" law marriages. We invented a new legal term over that. A woman could not request alimony from her long time mate because there was no marriage, but she won it anyway in a landmark legal case that created "palimony".

I may be wrong (that has happened) but my Department training was to never accept a citizens arrest. In ten years on the PD I never saw or heard of a citizens arrest being made. I repeatedly had people want me to take someone into custody that they had "arrested". My response was always, "Tell me what happened, and I will investigate. If there is probable cause I will arrest the person". I did arrest people for assault because they had gone vigilante looney, and either physically assaulted, or assaulted with a weapon, people that they thought committed a crime. It's a pretty good rule to not get involved when a man runs by and a pursuer calls out, "Stop that guy!".

In the classroom a rookie cop would be asked questions like this: Is the guy who just ran by a criminal? Is he a jogger? Is he someone who just didn't want to be around a bad scene, and decided to take it on the shoes? Is the pursuer a credible witness? What do you actually know about the situation? Has there actually been a crime committed? If there has been a crime committed, is it serious enough that YOU want to take responsibility for the outcome? Are you willing to take the confrontation to the next level, possibly to lethal violence for you or the suspect, based on what you know? If you pull your pistol and call for the suspect to halt, and he keeps on running, are you going to shoot him? If the suspect stops, how are you going to hold him until the police arrive? Have the police been notified? Are you alone, holding a suspect at gunpoint, with no back up in route? Once he stops, if he takes off running again, what will you do? How far are you willing to go? This is Cop 101 stuff, but I think anyone who has a weapon and is out among the public should be able to give pretty good answers to those questions.

Someone once said that in any crime there is a criminal and a victim, and the thing to do was be neither. I would re-write it to include the possibility of a fool with a gun.

And, thanks Dr. Strangelove.

Dr. Raoul Duke
Gonzo Forever
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