Cal. Codes » Penal Code / PART 2. OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE / TITLE 3. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS REGARDING CRIMINAL PROCEDURE / CHAPTER 5. Arrest, by Whom and How Made
California Codes

Cal. Penal Code § 844 (2026)

Arrest, by Whom and How Made

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To make an arrest, a private person, if the offense is a felony, and in all cases a peace officer, may break open the door or window of the house in which the person to be arrested is, or in which they have reasonable grounds for believing the person to be, after having demanded admittance and explained the purpose for which admittance is desired.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 100 cases, 1956–2018 · leading case: Ker v. California, 374 U.S. 23 (1963).
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Ker v. California, 374 U.S. 23 (1963). · cites it 3× “Indeed, a majority of the States have enacted the requirement in statutes substantially similar to California Penal Code § 844 and the federal statute, 18 U.”
People v. Ramey, 545 P.2d 1333 (Cal. 1976). · cites it 2× “Code, § 836), and that the only condition precedent to an arrest within the home is that the police comply with the statutory "knock and notice" provision (Pen. Code, § 844). Defendant recognizes that no statute imposes the requirement he now asks us to adopt, but asserts that…”
Miller v. United States, 357 U.S. 301 (1958). · cites it 2× “, 1955, § 13-1411; Deering's Cal. Penal Code, § 844; Fla. Stat., 1957, 901.”
People v. Hoag, 83 Cal. App. 4th 1198 (Cal. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 4× “2d 489 [Pen.Code, § 844 (arrest warrants) ].) Under the Fourth Amendment, a person may challenge the legality of a search or seizure only if he can show a personal interest in the privacy of the place searched or the item seized; he may not vicariously challenge the alleged…”
People v. Carrillo, 412 P.2d 377 (Cal. 1966). · cites it 4× “)penal Code section 844 forbids a peace officer to break into a house to arrest a felon unless he has first "demanded admittance and explained the purpose for which admittance is desired.”
Tuttle v. Superior Court, 120 Cal. App. 3d 320 (Cal. Ct. App. 1981). · cites it 4× “2d 353 ] (Pen. Code, § 844); People v. Gastelo (1967) 67 Cal.”
United States v. Jose Guadalupe Valenzuela, 596 F.2d 1361 (9th Cir. 1979). · cites it 2× “The California courts have held that the arrest entry statute, Cal.Penal Code § 844, does not apply where an officer perceives, through an open door, an occupant actually engaged in the commission of a narcotic offense in his immediate presence.”
People v. Rosales, 437 P.2d 489 (Cal. 1968). · cites it 2× “Penal Code section 844 provides: "To make an arrest .”
People v. Marshall, 442 P.2d 665 (Cal. 1968). · cites it 2× “) Penal Code section 844 provides that "To make an arrest .”
People v. Gomez, 63 Cal. App. 3d 328 (Cal. Ct. App. 1976). · cites it 2× “) We said: “An occupant of a closed bathroom, the same as an occupant of a closed bedroom, is entitled to an expectation of *335 privacy far greater than those persons in the common areas of a house, such as the living room and kitchen.”
Larry Donnell George v. City of Long Beach Robert Fowks Harry Kartinen, 973 F.2d 706 (9th Cir. 1992). “The case went to trial on the issues of (1) whether the officers were excused from compliance with California’s- knock-notice statute (Cal.Penal Code § 844), (2) whether they used excessive force in arresting George, (3) whether the officers were liable for false arrest and…”
People v. Smith, 409 P.2d 222 (Cal. 1966). “” (Pen. Code, § 844.) But compliance with the latter section “is not required if the officer’s peril would have been increased or the arrest frustrated had he demanded entrance and stated his purpose.”
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