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Citizens arrest

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Texas_CO

Junior Member
I live in Texas. I am a Correctional Officer for TDCJ. My question is:

I know that Correctional Officers [CO] are not "peace officers" as defined by Texas Code of Criminal Procedure [TCCP] Art. 2.12. I feel that since I have training in Restraint Tactics through TDCJ, I am kind of being lazy if I witiness a felony or a breach of peace and do nothing about it. What are the possible civil & criminal liabilities for making a citizens arrest [TCCP 14.01]. Would lawsuits be barred as long as I do not use excessive force or make false arrest?
 


CdwJava

Senior Member
What is your agency policy on this sort of thing?

It is not only what TX law allows you to do, but what your agency allows. They may NOT want you to do anything more than be a witness. Having training in arrest and control does not mean it is wise to intervene in something without proper safety equipment.

- Carl
 

outonbail

Senior Member
While you would most likely be fine as far as having any criminal concerns bite you in the butt (in a lawful arrest without excessive force) Your real concern is whether the agency you work for will provide you with legal representation in the event of a civil complaint being filed.

No matter how legal or in the right you or anyone else may be to arrest someone you witness committing a crime, the criminal can always pay an attorney to file a civil lawsuit against you. Just the cost of defending yourself in such an action can bankrupt you.

So, as Carl suggested, ask the agency you work for what their policy is and specifically, where you stand if an action is filed against you for something that happens outside the prison or correctional facility.
 

mrminister

Junior Member
Just remember, on the street the bad guys aren't unarmed and caged in knowing that even if they rip your head off your shoulders they are still stuck inside. You may find you don't receive the same respect you receive in there and wont be as safe either.

If I were you I'd leave the police work to the real police. But if you are feeling frisky by all means you are the master of your own destiny and maybe it would be a good experience for you to walk through the roughest part of town on a Friday night looking for drug dealers to take down (probably the only felony he'd be able to witness) - but be a man about it - don't just try to take down the junky hustling to support his habit, attempt to take down an armed, violent dealers if your reasoning is you are going to make an impact and make things safer.
 

Tallrat

Member
Hehe, by some of the responses people think being a Corrections Officer is a walk in the park. Some institutes you do have police powers. I have walked through a lot of them and I will tell you I would walk the toughest street any day over a large penal institute.

Anyway, If someones life is in danger and you feel up to it, help out. Any citizen can. Bar fights and bank robbers and drug deals? Just use your memory.
 

Tallrat

Member
Remember you're not a cop. You've had a little training, not nearly enough.
That really depends on where he works. Some CO's have more assaults and dangerous situations in a week than some suburb cops see in a year. He may also do forced cell extractions on a weekly basis and actually train a lot more often then local police.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Okay, when I was a boot I was a deputy assigned to a jail. In the jail I worked with murderers, psychos, and people with nothing to lose ... corrections can be terrifying. Just TRY walking in a pod alone and unarmed with 30 people who have little or nothing to lose by taking you down ... talking to people who can decide on a whim that they need to improve their own "rep" by taking you out and figure they have nothing to lose since they are going away for 25+ years ... try hanging on to a man the size of a linebacker as he is pummeling you against tables and walls as you pray and wait for "the green fog" to rumble up from the lower floors to rescue you ...

No, I don't want to work in corrections again. Certainly some jails can be a cakewalk (so to speak), and most are pretty safe. But, in state prisons, the inmates are mean, have little to lose, and can scare the piss out of post any big, bad dude.

I have a lot of respect for corrections officers ... less pay, similar dangers, fewer tools, and less respect.

No, I don't the TX C/A laws for corrections officers, but this can be tempered by agency policy so the OP needs to ask his employer about the issue.

- Carl
 

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