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HomeMy WebLinkAboutARREST PROC 11.1B TEQUESTA POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDER TITLE: ARREST PROCEDURES GENERAL ORDER: 11.1B EFFECTIVE: June 15, 2009 RESCINDS: G.O. 11.1A PAGES: 7 CONTENTS: This order consists of the following numbered sections: I. ARREST WITHOUT A WARRANT II. ARREST WITH A WARRANT OR CAPIAS III. SEARCH OF PERSON ARRESTED IV. RESIDENCE ENTRY V. STOP AND FRISK VI. SEARCHES OF VEHICLES VII. ARRESTEE RIGHTS VIII. GLOSSARY PURPOSE: To establish procedures for effecting arrests. SCOPE: This order applies to all law enforcement officers. DISCUSSION: Arrests may be made with or without a warrant depending on the circumstances and the nature of the crime in accordance with F.S. 901. Although this order provides general guidelines and procedures for affecting arrests, every officer with arrest powers will be issued a criminal law handbook for ready reference. POLICY: Arrests will be made in conformance to law and this order to ensure officer safety and to protect the rights of arrestees. PROCEDURE: I. ARREST WITHOUT A WARRANT: A. A law enforcement officer may arrest a person without a warrant when: 1. The person has committed a felony, misdemeanor, or violated a municipal ordinance in the presence of the officer. (An arrest for commission of a misdemeanor, or violation of a municipal ordinance, must be made immediately or in fresh pursuit.) 2. A felony has been committed and the officer reasonably believes that the person committed it. G.O. 11.1B  3. The officer reasonably believes a felony has been committed or is being committed and that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing it. 4. A warrant for arrest has been issued and is held by another peace officer 5. A misdemeanor violation of F.S. 316 (Uniform Traffic Control) has been committed in the presence of the officer. Such arrest may take place immediately or in fresh pursuit 6. The officer has probable cause to believe the person to be arrested has committed: a. A criminal act according to F.S. 741.31 (Violation of an Injunction for Protection against Domestic Violence), or, b. A criminal act according to F.S. 784.047 (Violation of an Injunction against Repeat Violence). 7. The person has committed an act of domestic violence, child abuse, or battery and the officer reasonably (An officer, who acts in good faith and believes there is danger of violence if there is not an arrest without delay. exercises due care in making an arrest under this section, is immune from civil liability that otherwise might result by reason of his action.) 8. When exigent circumstances exist. Generally, an emergency, a pressing necessity, or a set of circumstances requiring immediate attention or swift action. In the criminal procedure context, exigent circumstances means an emergency situation requiring swift action to prevent imminent danger to life or serious damage to property, or to forestall the immediate escape of a suspect, or destruction of evidence. There is no ready litmus test for determining whether such circumstances exist, and in each case the extraordinary situation must be measured by the facts known to the officer. B. When effecting a warrantless arrest, the officer must inform the person to be arrested of: 1. The basis of his authority. 2. The cause of the arrest, except when: a. The arrestee flees or forcibly resists before the officer informs him. b. Giving the information would imperil the arrest. 3. If notification is not given before, it must be given as soon after the arrest as is reasonable. II. ARREST WITH A WARRANT OR CAPIAS: A. Origination: An arrest warrant is issued by a magistrate if, after review, he reasonably believes the person complained against has committed an offense within his jurisdiction, F.S. 901.02. B. Authority: Only officers with arrest powers will execute an arrest warrant or capias. C. Warrant Application: An application for an arrest warrant requires the following: 1. Approval of a supervisor. 2. Completion of a Complaint Affidavit stating the probable cause for the arrest. 3. Review by the state attorney's office for approval. 2 G.O. 11.1B  4. If approved, the sworn affidavit will be presented to a judge for issuance of an arrest warrant. D. When effecting an arrest with a warrant, the officer making the arrest must inform the person to be arrested of: 1. The cause of the arrest; and 2. That a warrant has been issued, except when: a. The person flees; b. Forcibly resists; c. Or to do so would imperil the arrest. 3. The officer need not have the warrant on his person but, upon request of the person arrested, will show it to him as soon as practicable. E.Warrant Execution: For execution purposes, the term warrant will include a capias. An officer conducting a criminal investigation will do an NCIC/FCIC computer check for any outstanding warrants. A computer check will be done through the Communications Division. Confirmation of an outstanding warrant will be done on all computer checks. 1. Palm Beach County warrants will be confirmed through the Communications Division. A Palm Beach County warrant will be confirmed before an arrest is made. 2. Warrants issued outside Palm Beach County jurisdiction will be confirmed through communications. The issuing agency will be contacted to verify active status. An arrest will not be made without verification from the issuing agency. a. Out-of-state warrants will be verified with the issuing agency for status. b. Non-Palm Beach County warrants issued within the State of Florida may have limitations on the geographical pickup area. If Palm Beach County is outside the verified pickup area, the person will be released. F. Documentation: All warrant arrests will be documented on an Incident Report and Rough Arrest Form. The officer will attach the original teletype printout of the NCIC/FCIC computer check and the verification of the warrant status. III. SEARCH OF PERSON ARRESTED: A. The person arrested, and the area within the person's immediate presence, may be searched for the purpose of: 1. Officer safety; 2. To prevent escape; and 3. To discover the fruits of the crime. B. An officer making a lawful search without a warrant may seize all instruments, articles, or things discovered on the person arrested or within their immediate control. C. “Strip” or “Body Cavity” searches are prohibited. IV. RESIDENCE ENTRY: 3 G.O. 11.1B  A. Warrant Requirement: The entry into a residence is one of the most scrutinized areas of police actions. A valid arrest warrant, signed by a judge or magistrate, is the legal foundation for an intrusion into an arrestee’s home to effect the arrest. A search warrant is also required for entry into a third party residence to effect the arrest of a person who does not reside at the specific residence, except with consent as outlined in B. 5 below. B. Warrantless Entry: The courts have allowed certain exceptions to the warrant requirement for an arrest to be made inside a residence. These warrantless entry exceptions include: 1. When a suspect has committed a violent crime inside a residence, is armed, and there is likelihood that the person will escape. 2. When an officer is in fresh pursuit and the suspect enters his or her residence, the officer may follow the suspect into the residence to effect the arrest. 3. Consent is obtained to enter the premises from an owner or lessee. 4.(An officer may use deception or trickery to have the person A person agrees to leave the residence voluntarily. voluntarily leave the home. However, trickery and deception will not be used to gain admittance to the residence.) 5. The owner or lessee of a third party residence may provide consent to a search of a residence not belonging to the suspect. C. Forced Entry: F.S. 901.19 authorizes an officer to force entry into a building to make an arrest either by a warrant, or when authorized to make an arrest for a felony without a warrant (approved warrant exception). An officer may use all force necessary and reasonable to enter the building. Authorization is permitted after: 1. The officer has announced his or her authority. 2. The officer has announced the purpose of the entry and fails to gain admittance. 3. The officer observes or reasonably believes the person to be inside the building. 4. Forced entry into a building will only be accomplished after authorization from a supervisor or as the result of fresh pursuit. D. Protective Sweep: An officer may make a warrantless entry into a residence as part of a protective sweep. A protective sweep is a limited pass through a residence to check for persons who may destroy evidence or pose a threat to the officer. 1. A protective sweep may be conducted after the arrest of a person inside a residence. 2. A protective sweep may be conducted after the arrest of a person immediately outside the premises, when there is reason to believe that others are inside the residence. The sweep may be performed only in areas where a person (These areas do not include drawers, files, or other small areas.) could be concealed. 3. Any contraband or evidence observed in plain view may be seized. V. STOP AND FRISK: A. Stop: F.S. 901.151, the Florida Stop and Frisk law, allows for the temporary detention of a person under circumstances that reasonably indicate that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a violation of criminal law. These temporary detentions are used for ascertaining the identity of the person and the circumstances surrounding the person's presence. Limitations to the Stop and Frisk include: 4 G.O. 11.1B  1. The detention will not be longer than the time reasonably necessary to determine identification and to inquire about the circumstances creating the reasonable suspicion. 2. The person will be released if probable cause does not exist for an arrest. 3. The detention will not extend beyond the initial stop or the immediate area. 4. All stops made under this section will be documented either with a CAD entry or Field Interrogation Report. B. Frisk: A person who is temporarily detained may be frisked for weapons if there is probable cause to believe that the person is armed with a dangerous weapon and is a threat to the safety of the officer or any other person. The frisk may be done only to the extent necessary to disclose or reveal the presence of a weapon. “Strip” or “Body Cavity” searches are prohibited. 1. A weapon discovered during a frisk may be used as probable cause for the arrest of the person. 2. If an officer plainly feels the presence of what is immediately apparent to be contraband or evidence of a criminal offense, the officer may remove the contraband or evidence and charge the person accordingly. However, the frisk may not extend beyond the scope of a weapon search in order to discover any other contraband (Minnesota v. Dickerson, 1993). 3. A frisk may be extended to a bag or container in the person’s possession. C. Search: If probable cause exists for the arrest of the detained person, the officer will arrest the person and search the person and the area within the person’s immediate presence incident to arrest. “Strip” or “Body Cavity” searches are prohibited. D.Citizen Contacts: An officer may, at anytime, request to talk to a citizen as long as the encounter is with the citizen’s consent and the citizen is aware of his or her freedom to leave. This contact is not subject to the Stop and Frisk limitations if it is consensual. No documentation is required for a citizen encounter. VI. SEARCHES OF VEHICLES: A. Warrantless Searches:because officers have many means of The United States Supreme Court held that “ ensuring the safe arrest of vehicle occupants, it will be the case in which an officer is unable to fully effectuate an arrest so that a real possibility of access to the arrestee’s vehicle remains”. Without a search warrant, the burden is on the State to demonstrate that a lawful exception to the requirement of a search warrant existed at the time the search was conducted. Listed below are the circumstances under which an officer is legally authorized to search a motor vehicle after the arrest of an occupant: 1. relevant to the crime of arrest When it is reasonable to believe evidence might be found in the vehicle. Evidence would include any physical items which would naturally be associated with the crime. For example, a mask in a robbery case, a gun in a shooting case, the proceeds of a theft or alcohol in a DUI case, etc. 2. When an officer has reasonable suspicion that an individual, whether or not the arrestee, is “dangerous” and might access the vehicle to “gain immediate control of weapons.” Under Florida law, this exception requires the officer to have a reasonable belief an occupant is armed or there is a weapon in the vehicle and the subjects in the vehicle pose a threat to the officer. This exception does not apply when the arrestee or detainee has been secured in handcuffs or is placed in the back seat of a police car and therefore is unable to access the interior of his vehicle. 3. A search is conducted as part of the inventory of a motor vehicle when there is lawful authority to tow the vehicle. An officer will inventory an entire vehicle and its contents to include any open or closed containers. An impound will 5 G.O. 11.1B  be accomplished in accordance with the General Order 14.5 indexed as Vehicle Impound and Towing. 4. Probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband, such as drugs. 5. Plain view of contraband or weapons. However, an officer must view the contraband from a legal vantage point and the nature of the contraband must be immediately apparent to the officer. 6. A vehicle’s driver and/or owner may consent to a search of a vehicle. A consent to search must be voluntary, and not based upon any form of coercion. When possible, the consent will be documented on Consent to Search Form. 7.unsecured and within reaching distance When the arrestee is of the passenger compartment at the time of the search. 8. Search warrant. B. Warrant Searches: The search of a vehicle, based upon a valid warrant, will be executed in accordance with the conditions established in the search warrant. A vehicle search warrant is required when the vehicle to be searched is: 1. On private property; and/or, 2. Is immobile and not traveling on public roadways. VII. ARRESTEE RIGHTS: A. Miranda Warning: In Miranda v. Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a suspect in custody must be advised of the Miranda Warning and a waiver obtained before any interrogation. 1. Custody: The courts have held that custody begins when a person does not reasonably believe that he or she is free to leave or their freedom of movement has been curtailed by the words and/or actions of an officer. It is the mindset of the person being questioned that will determine a custodial interrogation, not the mindset of the officer. 2. Interrogation: Miranda Warning cards are provided to officers. The Miranda Warning will be read to suspects who are questioned while in custody. A Miranda Warning is not required during investigations that include: a. Routine traffic stops. (Miranda may be required if the fact b. General interviews used in the fact-finding area of an investigation. finding phase becomes accusatory, restricting the freedom of movement of a suspect.) c. No questioning of a suspect is required. d. A Stop and Frisk encounter. Miranda will be required if a probable cause or warrant arrest is made and the questioning of a suspect continues. B. Invocation of Rights: When an arrestee asserts his or her Miranda rights, the officer will discontinue questioning when: 1. The arrestee invokes the right to remain silent. (Questioning may resume if the arrestee reinitiates the process.) 2. An arrestee requests the presence of an attorney. C. The rights of an arrestee will be adhered to at all times during any investigation. VIII. GLOSSARY: 6 G.O. 11.1B  CAPIAS - A writ issued by a judge that commands an officer to take the body of a defendant into custody. CONSENT TO SEARCH – A voluntary agreement to a request to search a vehicle, vessel, privies, individual, etc. FRESH PURSUIT - An ongoing attempt to affect the arrest of a person who has fled and is pursued by a law enforcement officer on foot or by vehicle. The term is also called hot pursuit. WARRANT - A judicial writ authorizing an officer to execute a judgment, or make a search, seizure, or arrest. INDEXING: ARREST PROCEDURES MIRANDA WARNING STOP AND FRISK SEARCHES WARRANT ARRESTS DRAFTED: DJR/June 2009/Filed: Arrest11.1B APPROVED: Pete Pitocchelli, Chief DATE: November 05, 2011 Tequesta, Florida 7