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CA8: Common law did not permit officers to arrest outside their jurisdiction, but officer has qualified immunity

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officer dispatched on a 911 call pursued a man on a warrant for his arrest, and it turned out the rest was just barely across the state line. The arrest was under a valid warrant, and the officer acted reasonably not knowing he was outside of his jurisdiction. The court determines that common law did not permit arrests outside of the officer's jurisdiction, but the officer was still entitled to qualified immunity. Engleman v. Murray, 07-2060 (8th Cir. November 15, 2008) (2-1): Engleman concedes that the Arkansas arrest warrant was valid and supported by probable cause. Arkansas law authorizes law enforcement officers to execute its arrest warrants “in any county in the state” but does not authorize out-of-state arrests. Ark. Code Ann...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on November 18, 2008 (boomark / email).