False Arrest

False arrest happens, people make mistakes. If you arrested and later cleared of a charge, you were not necessarily falsely arrested. The distinction is a subtle one, best left to attorneys and judges. To be the victim of false arrest, you must have been unlawfully restrained by law enforcement officers who did not have the proper legal authority.

One of the more common reasons for false arrest is profiling. An officer might arrest someone on a suspicion of criminal intent or activity, with no real factual basis for doing so. An example is a Indian man being arrested simply because the officer thought he might be a terrorist, or a black man arrested inside a store because the officer thought he might be a shoplifter. These are examples of racial profiling, where the officer's suspicion of an entire race overshadows good judgment, and arrests are made unlawfully.

Suing for False Arrest

When someone is the victim of false arrest, no criminal charges are filed. The matter is brought before a civil court. Criminal charges can be filed if the person was abused while in law enforcement custody or other rights have been violated. False arrest cases are difficult to win because true false arrest is difficult to prove.

While an officer can't arrest just anyone on a whim, there are circumstances under which an arrest is lawful:

• the officer has an arrest warrant
• the officer believe the subject is trying to flee after committing a crime
• the officer believes there is probably cause to make an arrest

A law enforcement officer may genuinely believe he or she has probable cause to make an arrest when there really is none. And because much of what law enforcement officers do require quick judgment and fast action, courts are not likely to question too deeply an officer's belief in the necessity of an arrest for public safety or the officer's own safety.

Probably cause can be hard to prove or disprove in certain cases, making the successful win of a false arrest lawsuit a challenge at best. A lawyer with experience in such cases is necessary if you're the victim of false arrest.