Every state in the United States allows some form of citizen’s arrest, but each state, including Texas, has specific regulations about handling them.
A citizen’s arrest occurs when someone witnesses a crime and chooses to detain the suspect.
According to Texas Penal Code 14.01 (a), citizens can only perform an arrest if they witness the crime firsthand and “if the offense is one classed as a felony or as an offense against the public peace.”
A “breach of peace” occurs when a “person’s conduct threatens continuing violence or may do harm to himself or another person,” according to Fulgham Law Firm.
Texas empowers citizens to make arrests if they witness such crimes, but the action does not come without risk.
Port Arthur Police Department Officer Rickey Antoine said police officers are prepared for such risks, but the average citizen might not be.
“Suspects push, assault, hit, run from, cut, stab and shoot the highest form of law enforcement in our state of TEXAS — uniformed police officers — so it doesn’t take a genius to guess what they would do to a citizen who tries to apprehend or stop their escape after committing a crime,” Antoine said, per the Port Arthur News.
In addition to the physical risks of interacting with a suspect, a citizen’s arrest can pose legal complications.
“These arrests by ANY person only pertain to felonies that are committed in their presence or any crime against public peace,” Antoine added. “So this tells anyone who may desire to affect a [citizen’s] arrest that they need to be abreast with the felony and misdemeanor offenses in the state of Texas.”
Someone who performs an illegal citizen’s arrest can face charges of unlawful restraint, assault, or kidnapping, according to The Law Offices of Tad Nelson.
Sections 20.02 and 22.01 of the Texas Penal Code state that unlawful restraint and assault are Class A misdemeanors. A kidnapping charge is even worse, as it is a third-degree felony under Section 20.03.
In addition to criminal charges, suspects could pursue civil litigation based on allegations of false imprisonment.
“In my opinion, [citizen’s] arrests should NOT be a practice that non-peace officers are striving to conduct. Due to the unpredictable and violent nature of most felonies and offenses against the public peace, it would probably be in the best interest to be ‘A GOOD WITNESS’ [than] to actually get involved and attempt to apprehend a suspect,” Antoine said, per the Port Arthur News. “…[W]e would rather you and others be SAFE and give a detailed description of the actor(s)/suspect(s), like clothing, race, sex, vehicle description, direction of travel, and what CRIME(S) you observed.”
