Can a police officer execute an arrest warrant on the wrong person?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Hamilton v. City of San Diego, 217 Cal.App.3d 838, 266 Cal.Rptr. 215 (Cal. App. 1990):
In Walton v. Will (1944) 66 Cal.App.2d 509, 152 P.2d 639, a police officer executed an arrest warrant on the wrong person. The court held there was a duty to reasonably ascertain that the person arrested was the one against whom the warrant was issued. Plainly this holding does not establish a duty of further investigation once probable cause has been established and the correct suspect apprehended.
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