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OH2: Handcuffing where unnecessary for safety constituted an arrest

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Use of handcuffs must be reasonable in a detention or it converts into an arrest. Here, the officers outnumbered the defendant and safety concerns were minimal. State v. Williams, 2008 Ohio 5511, 2008 Ohio App. LEXIS 4639 (2d Dist. October 24, 2008): [*P19] The facts in this case are distinguishable from those in Carter. Here, there were at least four officers present at the point Williams was stopped. There is no indication in the record that any other individuals were near the officers at the time. In fact, the record indicates that even the "known crack addict" had left the area. Further, the record indicates that Williams did not make any threatening gestures and did not appear to be armed or attempting to arm himself. Also, there is no indication that Williams had failed to comply with the officers' requests...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on October 25, 2008 (boomark / email).