Opinion ID: 1346868
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: whether an arrest was being made

Text: In Williams , this Court set forth specific elements to determine when an arrest has been consummated. 237 S.C. at 257, 116 S.E.2d at 860-61. Where the police officer does not manually touch the suspect, an arrest requires intent on the part of the officer to arrest the suspect, and intent on the part of the suspect to submit to the arrest, under the belief that submission was necessary. Id. Although Williams sets forth two elements to determine when an arrest has occurred, an arrest, itself, is an ongoing process in South Carolina. State v. Dowd, 306 S.C. 268, 270, 411 S.E.2d 428, 429 (1991). In this case, consistent with the plain language of section 16-9-320(A), we must determine whether an arrest was being made when Brannon fled from police. See Gay v. Ariail, 381 S.C. 341, 345, 673 S.E.2d 418, 420 (2009) (stating whether the statute's language is plain, unambiguous, and conveys a clear, definite meaning, the rules of statutory interpretation are not needed and the court has no right to impose another meaning). Thus, our inquiry is directed at determining whether the arresting process was underway at the time of Brannon's flight. Because the State has failed to put forth any evidence demonstrating that the officers either intended to arrest Brannon or that Brannon submitted to the arrest, we find an arrest was not being made when Brannon ran from police. Initially, the State urges this Court to evaluate the officers' intent based on an objective inquiry of whether the officers had probable cause to arrest Brannon at the time of flight. Devenpeck v. Alford, 543 U.S. 146, 153, 125 S.Ct. 588, 593, 160 L.Ed.2d 537 (2004). We decline to do so because it is immaterial to our analysis to determine if the officers had probable cause to arrest Brannon. Under the plain language of section 16-9-320(A), we are only focused on determining whether an arrest was being made at the time of Brannon's flight. In Williams , this Court noted where the officer does not manually touch the suspect, the intentions of the parties to the transaction are very important . . . . 237 S.C. at 257, 116 S.E.2d at 860. We find the phrase the intentions of the parties to the transaction, refers to the subjective intentions of the law enforcement officer and the suspect. Thus, the intent of the officers to arrest Brannon must be evaluated under a subjective standard rather than the objective standard governing probable cause. Both Officer Scruggs and Officer Quinn testified that when they arrived on the scene, they believed Brannon was breaking into automobiles. However, neither officer testified they intended to arrest him after seeing him. In fact, Quinn testified our intention was to approach the subject and find out exactly what he was doing there at the time. Thus, according to Quinn, the police officers intended to question Brannon at the time he ran away. In support of its argument that an arrest was being made, the State points to the facts and circumstances as they existed when the police officers encountered Brannon. However, in our view, these facts reveal only that the police officers could have arrested Brannon, i.e. they had probable cause to believe he was committing a crime. These facts do not demonstrate that the police officers intended to actually do so. [1] Likewise, there was also no evidence presented demonstrating Brannon submitted to the officers. To the contrary, as soon as Brannon saw the police officers, he ran. Therefore, we find an arrest was not being made at the time Brannon fled from police.