Ark. Code Ann. § 16-81-107 (2020)
Procedures of arrest
- An arrest is made by placing the person of the defendant in restraint or by his or her submitting to the custody of the person making the arrest.
- No unnecessary force or violence shall be used in making the arrest.
- To make an arrest, a law enforcement officer may break open the door of a house in which the defendant may be after having demanded admittance and explained the purpose for which admittance is desired.
- A law enforcement officer making an arrest may summon orally as many persons as he or she deems necessary to aid him or her in making the arrest, and all persons failing without reasonable excuse to obey the summons shall be guilty of Class C misdemeanors.
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The person making the arrest shall:
- Inform the person about to be arrested of the intention to arrest him or her and the offense for which he or she is to be arrested; and
- If acting under a warrant of arrest, give information of the warrant and show the warrant if required.
- The law enforcement officer making an arrest in obedience to a warrant shall proceed with the defendant as directed by the warrant.
History. Crim. Code, §§ 36-40, 42; C. & M. Dig., §§ 2907-2912; Pope's Dig., §§ 3723-3728; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 43-412 — 43-414, 43-415 — 43-417; Acts 2005, No. 1994, § 412.
Amendments. The 2005 amendment substituted “a law enforcement” for “an” in (c) and (d); inserted “or her” in (d) and twice in (e); in (d), inserted “Class C” and deleted “and punished by fine and imprisonment, or either” at the end; inserted “or she” in (e); and inserted “law enforcement” in (f).
Cross References. Procedures on Arrest, ARCrP 4.4.
Refusing to assist law enforcement officer, § 5-54-109.
Resistance to authority, § 12-11-104.
Research References
ALR.
Power of Private Citizen to Institute Criminal Proceedings Without Authorization or Approval by Prosecuting Attorney. 90 A.L.R.6th 385.
Case Notes
Purpose.
This section is designed for the protection of the citizen, who may not be deprived of the liberty and taken into custody without being advised of the reasons for that action. Minton v. State, 198 Ark. 875, 131 S.W.2d 948 (1939).
Applicability.
This section has no application when the offense is committed in the presence of the officer, and the offender knows the officer has seen him commit the offense. Minton v. State, 198 Ark. 875, 131 S.W.2d 948 (1939).
Where the trouble resulted from defendant's resistance to and interference with an officer in the discharge of his duty, this statute has no application if the offense is committed in the presence of the officer and the officer would have no duty to inform defendant of the reason for his arrest. Bookout v. Hanshaw, 235 Ark. 924, 363 S.W.2d 125 (1962).
Duty to Inform.
The attempt of an officer to arrest one without informing him that he held a warrant and of his intention to arrest him does not justify the latter in killing the officer where he knew that he had the warrant and that his purpose was to arrest him. Appleton v. State, 61 Ark. 590, 33 S.W. 1066 (1896).
Where there was evidence that defendant charged with murder killed deceased while attempting to arrest him for offense committed in his presence, instruction advising jury that “person making the arrest shall inform the person about to be arrested of the intent to arrest him, the offense charged against him for which he is to be arrested” was reversible error. Minton v. State, 198 Ark. 875, 131 S.W.2d 948 (1939).
Where defendant had testified that he presumed that the arresting officer was in fact an officer of the law, the trial court did not err in refusing to instruct the jury that the officer making the arrest must inform person of the officer's intention to arrest him and the offense for which he is being arrested, in view of fact that defendant's objection to the court's failure to give the instruction was based solely on the ground that the officer's official capacity was not made known to defendant. Dillard v. State, 260 Ark. 743, 543 S.W.2d 925 (Ark. 1976).
Failure to Aid Officer.
It is a good defense to a prosecution for failure to obey summons to aid an officer in making an arrest that defendant was sick and therefore unable to do so. Greenwood v. Smothers, 103 Ark. 158, 146 S.W. 109 (1912); Allen v. State, 117 Ark. 432, 174 S.W. 1179 (1915).
Manner of Making Arrest.
The word “arrest” did not have to be used to constitute a lawful arrest, rather it was the actual restrain or consent to restraint which constituted the arrest. McDonald v. State, 253 Ark. 812, 491 S.W.2d 36 (1973).
Although ARCrP 4.4 requires that the officer inform the arrested person that he is under arrest, formal words are not essential to an arrest. Williams v. State, 278 Ark. 9, 642 S.W.2d 887, 1982 Ark. LEXIS 1606 (1982).
The officers were not required to make an arrest when they first had probable cause to do so. Williams v. State, 278 Ark. 9, 642 S.W.2d 887, 1982 Ark. LEXIS 1606 (1982).
Use of Force.
Evidence insufficient to allow officer to plead self-defense. Johnson v. State, 100 Ark. 139, 139 S.W. 1117 (1911).
Evidence sufficient to show that force used was necessary because plaintiffs were resisting arrest. Pritchard v. Downie, 216 F. Supp. 621 (E.D. Ark. 1963), aff'd, 326 F.2d 323 (8th Cir. 1964).
Cited: Martin v. State, 114 Ark. 230, 169 S.W. 776 (1914); Pritchard v. Downie, 216 F. Supp. 621 (E.D. Ark. 1963); Akins v. State, 253 Ark. 273, 485 S.W.2d 535 (1972); Douglas v. Buder, 412 U.S. 430, 93 S. Ct. 2199, 37 L. Ed. 2d 52 (1973); United States v. Price, 441 F. Supp. 814 (E.D. Ark. 1977); Logan v. State, 264 Ark. 920, 576 S.W.2d 203 (1979); Ginter v. Stallcup, 641 F. Supp. 939 (E.D. Ark. 1986); Pursley v. State, 302 Ark. 471, 791 S.W.2d 359 (1990).