The police cannot rely on a warrant they did not know about to later provide a legal basis for an arrest, a New York State appeals court has ruled.
The appeal arose in connection with the arrest of Malvin Omar Urena, who was arrested without explanation nearly two years ago while standing with friends in the courtyard of his apartment building in the Bronx.
Police later charged Urena with interfering with a so-called buy-and-bust operation by shouting “Police, police, police.” He was detained for more than a day before the District Attorney’s office declined to prosecute, citing a lack of probable cause for his arrest.
Urena later sued the city for false arrest and imprisonment. A trial judge dismissed the claims, finding that a warrant issued in December 2011 for Urena’s arrest provided a basis for police to apprehend him.
Not so, says the court’s appellate division.
“Since the police were unaware of the warrant when they arrested plaintiff, the arrest cannot be found to have been based on the warrant,” wrote a panel headed by Associate Justice Angela Mazzarelli in a decision published Friday.
“Plaintiff correctly argues that the warrant that had been issued for his arrest in December 2011 does not render his May 2013 arrest ‘privileged’ so as to preclude his claims,” the panel added.
In general, the law permits police to arrest suspects without a warrant provided the police have probable cause. That means there’s a reasonable basis for finding that a crime has been committed.