Colo. Rev. Stat. » Title 16
Colorado Revised Statutes

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 16-3-201 (2026)

Arrest by a private person

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section CO-LEGleg.colorado.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

A person who is not a peace officer may arrest another person when any crime has been or is being committed by the arrested person in the presence of the person making the arrest.

Source: L. 72: R&RE, p. 199, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 39-3-201.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases, 1978–2012 · leading case: People v. Wolf, 635 P.2d 213 (Colo. 1981).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
People v. Wolf, 635 P.2d 213 (Colo. 1981). · cites it 22× “Section 16-3-201, C.R.S.1973 (1978 Repl.Vol.”
People v. Hamilton, 666 P.2d 152 (Colo. 1983). · cites it 4× “The opinion assumes that the Arapahoe County deputy sheriff had no common law authority outside Arapahoe County to arrest a person who was the object of an arrest warrant.”
People v. Vigil, 729 P.2d 360 (Colo. 1986). · cites it 4× “(1986), and were not acting as private citizens under section 16-3-201, 8A C.R.S. (1986), nonetheless, they had the power to arrest persons for a crime committed in their presence.”
People v. Bloom, 577 P.2d 288 (Colo. 1978). · cites it 3× “Section 16-3-201, C.R.S. 1973. If private citizens have the power to arrest persons who commit crimes in their presence, certainly a police officer, outside his territorial jurisdiction, has the same power.”
People v. Joyce, 68 P.3d 521 (Colo. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 3× “On the other hand, § 18-1-707(7) is part of the article codifying *524 affirmative defenses including, inter alia, the use of physical force.”
People v. Florez, 680 P.2d 219 (Colo. 1984). · cites it 3× “) See section 16-3-201, C.R.S.1973 (1978 Repl.Vol.”
Land v. Hill, 644 P.2d 43 (Colo. Ct. App. 1981). · cites it 2× “2d 234 (1974); § 16-3-201, C.R.S. 1973; Colorado Jury Instructions § 21:10 (2d ed.”
People v. Chirico, 272 P.3d 1170 (Colo. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “§ 16-3-201, C.R.S. 2011. Just as a peace officer attempting or making an arrest "is justified in using reasonable and appropriate physical force," § 18-1-707(1)(a), C.”
State v. Harding, 508 A.2d 471 (Me. 1986). · cites it 2× “Section 16-3-201, C.R.S.1973 (1978 Repl. Vol.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.