What is the definition of being arrested by the police?

Question

When a cop comes up to you and handcuffs you and puts you in a cop car, is that being arrested or do you actually have to be takin to jail? For example, what if someone went crazy and the police handcuffed them and took em to the hospital instead of jail? Is it still arrest?

Answer 1

An arrest would have to encompass a criminal charge. In your example I think that would be considered protective custody if the person was a potential harm to himself or others. Sometimes people are placed in handcuffs for safety purposes and would not constitute an arrest, that would be a detention, without arrest.

Answer 2

Arrested Definition

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

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RE:
What is the definition of being arrested by the police?
When a cop comes up to you and handcuffs you and puts you in a cop car, is that being arrested or do you actually have to be takin to jail? For example, what if someone went crazy and the police handcuffed them and took em to the hospital instead of jail? Is it still arrest?

Answer 5

An "arrest" as far as the law is concerned is a seizure (restraint) on a persons' liberty that puts them under police custody.

Someone can be arrested and detained in a police car, or just by an officer, without ever going to jail. As is your example of someone forcibly taken to a hospital and required to remain there-- but it ceases to be arrest once the police release the person and allow them to leave if they wish. But also not every situation where a person is restrained does it automatically count as an arrest -- custody and control are the relevant thresholds.

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EDIT: As a matter of law, the answers that refer to Miranda rights are incorrect. Miranda rights have nothing to do with whether someone is legally arrested. Someone can be arrested, and held, and tried and convicted -- all legally -- without ever having had Miranda rights read.

Miranda rights ONLY establish the information that must be provided to a suspect before any statements can be obtained from them during custodial interrogation. So, while an arrest is "custody", unless there is also an "interrogation" (asking questions or making statements intended to provoke a response), then Miranda does not apply.

Answer 6

The definition of arrest is actually determined in a court of law by a judge. If you are told by a police officer that you are under arrest, then it is safe to say that you are. However, an officer may detain someone without having placed them under arrest.

This kind of legal conflict may arise if someone is trying to countersue the arresting officer or the agency he works for having wrongly placed him under arrest. There are also other circumstances when the actual arrest of the suspect and the exact time when it occurred is important for either the prosecutor or the defence to know precisely.

Hypothetical example...
I am a police officer investigating a crime. I talk to you for a while, and although I am unable to tie you to the crime, I haven't been able to eliminate you as a suspect. I tell you that you are not under arrest, but are being detained so I can investigate everything more thoroughly before letting you go. I then place you in handcuffs and put you in the back of my squad car, with a protective barrier (A cage), and locked doors that can't be opened from the inside. You stay there for about 1 1/2 hours before I allow you out and remove the handcuffs. You then walk away, find an attorney, and sue me for false arrest.

My defence: I only detained you. I told you you were being detained, and you were never under arrest.

When asked to evaluate this, the judge will determine if you were actually under arrest, despite what I said. He or she will look at the following.
1) Did I intend to take you into custody?
Yes. Clearly I did. If you are in my squad car, especially if cuffed, then you are already in my custody; even if I don't actually take you to the station.
2) Was your freedom restricted?
Yes it was. You had no freedom to leave, even if I told you that you could ask to go at any time, because at the time, you were locked in the back of a "caged" squad car, and handcuffed.
3) Was I acting under authority?
Yes, I was. If I wasn't, that would be kidnapping. Or perhaps unlawful imprisonment; depending on the circumstances of how we got to talking.
4) Would a reasonable person believe that they were under arrest if they were in your shoes?
Probably, they would. You were cuffed, in the back of a locked, caged squad car, by a police officer, you were told you couldn't leave (detained), and had no choice in the matter. Plus, you were kept there for an hour and a half, which is a bit long for a legitimate "detention."

Although police officers can detain someone without their consent, and without their being able to leave, and still not be arrested, there is a reasonable and unreasonable amount of time for that to last. How long of a time this can be depends on the circumstances and the situation in which a person is kept detained. There is a big difference between being cuffed and stuffed in the back of a squad car and being told to wait on the sidewalk until I say you are free to go, for an hour and a half.

Ultimately, the courts will decide if there has been an arrest. In this scenario, they would likely determine that you were under arrest, even though I stated you were only being detained.

Regarding your scenario about the crazy guy, he or she would most likely be considered under arrest also, and for the same reasons.

El Chistoso

Answer 7

Yes,it is an arrest.However,there would be no criminal record.An arrest takes place when a police officer handcuffs you and takes you away.Whether to jail or anywhere else.
If you cannot freely leave,then you would be under arrest.
If you do not need to divulge it,then don't.Keep it to yourself.Your friends won't care and your enemies will never believe you.
Being arrested is not that big of a deal.

Answer 8

Technically it is not under arrest. I have responded to fights and handcuffed both parties...only to release one or both soon after. Handcuffing is for safety of the officers and others involved. An arrest is when you are not free to leave and you have committed a crime. The man going to the hospital is being held for sfety , but is not an arrest.

Answer 9

Typically a seizure constitutes an arrest.
"A person is "seized" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment "whenever a police officer accosts [the] individual and restrains his freedom to walk away"" Terry v Ohio, Sikes v State, et. al.

"...when the officers identified themselves, and asked him to accompany them to another location, without giving him back the ID and tickets, he was effectively seized and was not free to leave. As a practical matter he was under arrest, and his consent to the search of his belongings was not voluntary." Florida v. Royer 460 U.S. 491, 103 S.Ct. 1319 (1983)

Answer 10

You are just being detained until they advise you of your Miranda rights. At that point you would be under arrest,

If you want to know under what circumstances you may be arrested see link below.