- In your state, may an armed citizen arrest a violent attacker at gunpoint and detain him or her until law enforcement arrives? Is this allowed for crimes that are not violent?
- If the crime occurred inside one’s home, are allowances to use deadly force to effect a citizen’s arrest broader than out in public?
- What do armed citizens in your state need to know about citizen’s arrest?
In Maryland, a citizen may use a “citizen’s arrest” as long as its use does not constitute a breach of the public peace.
Use of force in Maryland is determined using the self-defense standard of using no more force than is reasonably necessary but is complicated by the fact that deadly force can only be “used” after attempting to retreat unless avenue of retreat is unknown to the user, the user is the victim of a robbery, or the user is using the force within their own home. The determination of whether the force is reasonable will be made by the fact finder, either the judge or jury, at trial and not likely through a pre-trial motion. The more force used, i.e., pointing versus discharging, will play a big factor in the determination as to whether the force was unreasonable.
So, for example, a woman hears a window break in her home and catches a man inside her apartment and detains him at gunpoint until the police arrive – likely a good detention.
Whereas a woman hears a window break in her home and catches a man inside who attempts to flee, so she shoots him – very likely a bad detention.
And ultimately, these examples show the conundrum most homeowners face using firearms to defend their homes in Maryland since most burglars are going to try to flee, and it’s likely unlawful to actually shoot them or at them – so you can use the weapon to encourage a person to stick around and get arrested or they just run and face a much lower chance of apprehension. Most criminals go with the second option.
Speaking in terms of specifically “citizen’s arrest,” a citizen should keep in mind that a citizen’s arrest within the home is unlikely to be a breach of the public peace because, obviously, it is far less likely the public is around to have their peace breached, but once in public, even within the yard of a home, any place where the public can be can constitute the presence of the public. For example Maryland’s appellate courts have held a pretty much empty road was enough to constitute the presence of the public for the purposes of disturbing the peace. Often when the police can’t charge anything else, they will opt to charge disturbing the peace because it is so vague and operates as a legal catch-all.
Overall, Maryland has a very convoluted criminal law book, and anytime someone in Maryland is using force, of any degree, they should be prepared to defend their actions in the field and again in a courtroom.
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Roland S. Harris IV, Esq.