Practice point: A civilian will not be held liable for false arrest or false imprisonment.for furnishing information to law enforcement authorities who are then free to exercise their
own independent judgment as to whether an arrest will be made and criminal
charges filed.
Student note: To be liable for false arrest or false
imprisonment, the civilian must have affirmatively induced the officer to act,
such as taking an active part in the arrest and procuring it to be made or
showing active, officious and undue zeal, to the point where the officer is not
acting of his own volition.
Case: Petrychenko v. Solovey,
NY Slip Op 06792 (2d Dept.
2012).
Tomorrow’s issue: Judicial review of a university’s
discipline of a professor.
