§ 4.01  General Rules

 

Upon probable cause that the suspect has committed or is committing a felony, a police officer:

(1) may arrest a person in a public place without a warrant, even if it is practicable to secure one;

(2) may not arrest a person in the person's home without an arrest warrant, absent exigent circumstances or valid consent; and

(3) may not arrest a person in another person's home without a search warrant, absent exigent circumstances or valid consent.

[See § 3.05, Exigent Circumstances, and § 3.11, Consent Searches.]

 

§ 4.02  Arrest in the Home

 

The Fourth Amendment prohibits the warrantless, nonconsensual entry into a suspect's home in order to make a “routine” (non-exigent) felony arrest. Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980).  A warrant is not necessary to effectuate an arrest in the curtilage of the suspect's home, however.  Moreover, a suspect standing in an open doorway of his home at the time the police arrive is treated as if he were in a public place, justifying a warrantless arrest. United States v. Santana, 427 U.S. 38 (1976). Less clear is the situation where the suspect is inside the house until the police knock at the door, at which point the suspect comes to the doorway.

 

§ 4.03  Knock-and-Announce Rule

 

An arrest warrant authorizes the police to enter a suspect's home only if there is reason to believe the suspect is within.  As with search warrants, the knock-and-announce rule applies.  Even if the police believe the suspect is at home, they may not, absent special circumstances, forcibly enter a home to execute an arrest warrant unless they first knock, announce their purpose for entering, request admittance, and are refused entry. Wilson v. Arkansas, 514 U.S. 927 (1995).

 

§ 4.04  Use of Force in Making an Arrest

 

[A] Deadly Force

 

The police may not use deadly force to make an arrest except where:

(1) the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others; and

            (2) the officer reasonably believes that such force is necessary to make the arrest or prevent escape.

Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985) (an officer in pursuit of a suspect was “reasonably sure” that the suspect was unarmed but fatally shot him when the suspect refused to stop fleeing)

 

If the officer can reasonably effectuate the arrest with non-deadly force, he must do so. Moreover, when feasible, the officer must warn the suspect to stop fleeing before deadly force is employed.

 

[B] Non-Deadly Force

 

All claims of excessive force by police, whether deadly or non-deadly, are to be evaluated according to the “reasonableness” standard.  Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989).  Among the factors that may bear upon the reasonableness of the officer's use of force in a given case are:

• the seriousness of the crime committed/being committed.
• the extent to which the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of others.
• the extent to which the suspect is resisting arrest or attempting to escape.