Police officers have the legal authority to arrest people under certain circumstances. Thankfully, the law limits the ability of police officers to arrest people. Frequently, police officers obtain arrest warrants signed by judges before serving the warrant and taking a person into custody.
Occasionally, police officers may conduct arrests without warrants in a relatively spontaneous fashion if they witness a crime. In some cases, police officers may violate the civil rights of individuals by conducting false arrests. The people who experience false arrest might fight back by filing a lawsuit. Probable cause can play an important role in a false arrest or unlawful arrest claim.
What is probable cause?
In the legal world, probable cause can justify an arrest or a search. People often underestimate what police officers have to establish to have probable cause. A hunch or vague suspicion does not constitute probable cause.
Police officers have to have a reasonable belief that specific criminal activity occurred. A motorist slurring their words and admitting to drinking “just two beers” during a traffic stop could give an officer probable cause to suspect that they have driven while drunk.
Being in a high-crime neighborhood or acting in a seemingly suspicious manner may not constitute the probable cause necessary to arrest a person. Particularly if interest has consequences for the person taken into state custody without justification, they may want to take legal action.
People who experience false arrest may sustain injuries, lose jobs and have other setbacks because of the violation of their rights they endured. Proving that a violation of an individual’s civil rights occurred in court can potentially inspire policy changes and can diminish the harm caused by police officer misconduct.
