On Your Own; Your Legal Right @ Eighteen On Your Own formatted final version | Page 30

exercising this leave right are entitled to protections, including job
restoration at the conclusion of the leave period.
IF YOU ARE ARRESTED
When and where can I be arrested?
A person who is arrested is not free to leave and must go where police
take him or her. The police can briefly stop you to issue a citation or to
question you if they are suspicious, but they can arrest you only if they
have probable cause to believe that you have done something wrong.
Probable cause is more than just being suspicious. The police have
probable cause to make an arrest if an ordinary person who knew or saw
what the police did would believe that an offense has been committed and
that you were the one responsible.
Sometimes the police can make an arrest only after getting a document
called a warrant from a court. When a judge issues a warrant, he or she
officially decides that there is probable cause. Police usually need a
warrant to make an arrest in a private place, like your home. But there are
also many situations in which police officers can make an arrest without
waiting to get a warrant from a court. Some situations in which a police
officer can make a warrantless arrest in a public place include:
x
x
x
x
x
If the officer actually sees someone committing any crime;
If the officer has probable cause to believe that someone will harm
him/herself or another person in the future;
If the officer has probable cause to believe that someone has
committed one among certain serious crimes (even though the
officer did not witness it)
If the person refuses to identify themselves when stopped;
If the officer believes that someone has violated terms of
probation or parole.
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