Being Arrested
N.J.S.A. 2A:169-3 — an offense in an officer's presence, and the limits on force in making an arrest
Whenever an offense is committed in the presence of a police officer, the officer shall, and any other person may, apprehend a disorderly person without a warrant or process and take them before a magistrate of the county where they were apprehended.
Force is justifiable in making or helping to make an arrest when the person using it reasonably believes it is immediately necessary to make a lawful arrest. It is not justifiable unless the purpose of the arrest is made known, or reasonably believed already known or impossible to make known, and, on an arrest under a warrant, the warrant is valid or reasonably believed to be.
Deadly force. Deadly force is justifiable in an arrest only by a peace officer, or someone summoned to assist one, who reasonably believes the force creates no substantial risk to innocent persons, that the crime was one of the serious crimes the section lists, among them homicide, kidnapping, arson, robbery and burglary of a dwelling, or an attempt at one, and that there is an imminent threat of deadly force, or that the force is necessary to stop such a crime or prevent an escape.
Bail after an arrest is on the bail page, and resisting arrest on the resisting page. Arrests on a warrant and the court rules on a first appearance are not covered here.
Sources for this section (2)
- N.J.S.A. 2A:169-3 — Arrest of a disorderly person without process
- N.J.S.A. 2C:3-7 — Use of force in law enforcement
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New Jersey attorney.