Legal Issues In Policing

Lawful Arrest

​

"When an accused challenges the validity of a warrantless arrest the burden is on the Crown to show that the police acted in a lawful and reasonable manner. To do so, the Crown must prove the facts on which it relied on a balance of probabilities" (R. v. Lotfy, 2017 BCCA 418 at para. 32).  Thus, when an arrest is made under s. 495(1) of the Criminal Code, the Crown must establish that the arresting officer met the requirements of the arrest provision. The accused is not required to demonstrate that the arresting officer lacked grounds for the arrest. So if the arrest is under s. 495(1)(b), the arresting officer must have reasonable grounds to believe the person arrested was committing a criminal offence in the officer's presence (R. v. Lotfy, 2017 BCCA 418 at para. 33)