Beatrice Collier successfully defended an appeal in the High Court concerning the requirements for a lawful arrest.

On 19 June 2023 Mr Justice Freedman handed down judgment in the case of Karalis v Chief Constable of Derbyshire Constabulary [2023] EWHC 1496 (KB). The claimant appealed HHJ Coe KC’s dismissal of his claim for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and assault on a number of grounds, all of which were dismissed. The Claimant had been circulated as wanted on the basis of a witness having identified him from CCTV. By the time that the response team managed to effect the arrest, unbeknownst to the arresting officer, the witness had withdrawn her identification of the Claimant, telling the police that in fact it was someone else entirely. The Claimant argued that it was necessary for the police to prove that at the time of the arrest there were objectively reasonable grounds to suspect him, which, he argued, because of the change in identification, the police could not. The Court rejected this, holding that it was sufficient to consider what was in the mind of the arresting officer.

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Authors

Beatrice Collier

Call 2004

Related areas

Police Law

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Professional Discipline & Regulatory

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