What is the difference between a plaintiff's claim that his arrest was lacking in probable cause and/or excessive force?

Defendant contends that his arrest was not only lacking in probable cause and thus unlawful, but also was accomplished with excessive force and hence he was justified in employing counterforce in self-defense. Some courts appear to have incorrectly treated these two problems unitarily (see, e.g., People v. Baca (1966) infra, 247 Cal.App.2d 487, 495, 55 Cal.Rptr. 681), as if a technically unlawful arrest were identical with an overly forceful arrest.

There are, however, two distinct and separate rights at stake. The common

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