| I think you've got it a bit wrong. It looks to me like this statute is simply limiting the liability of a peace officer who does in fact follow the law (ie, by using reasonable force). It does not authorize any additional use of force - "reasonable force" is exactly the same standard for all arrests in California, whether effected by sworn officers or not, eg: > When assaulted Edwards was justified in using such force as was reasonable for defendant's arrest and detention and to enlist his brother's assistance to aid him in making the arrest. ยงยง 835, 839; People v. Lathrop, 49 Cal. App. 63, 67 [192 P. 722] In California, as with most common-law places, you can delegate the arresting action to a peace officer (ie, you can say, I want to arrest Joe; he stole my car). If you go and tell a peace officer that, but you were lying, that peace officer isn't subject to civil liability. Here's a publication on this topic from Alameda County (and note that it also confirms that a citizen, whether peace officer or not, may use reasonable force to effect an arrest): http://le.alcoda.org/publications/point_of_view/files/Citize... |