Opinion ID: 427208
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Personal Torts.

Text: 13 Under Mississippi law, the elements of false arrest or imprisonment are two-fold: (1) the detention of a person; and (2) the unlawfulness of the detention. See, e.g., Powell v. Moore, 252 Miss. 471, 174 So.2d 352, 354 (1965). Where there is no manual touching or seizure of the person, there must be  'an intention on the part of one to arrest the other and an intention on the part of such other to submit under the belief and impression that submission was necessary.'  Id. (quoting 22 Am.Jur. False Imprisonment Sec. 7 (1939)). See also Martin v. Santora, 199 So.2d 63, 65 (Miss.1967) (where no force or violence is actually employed, the submission of the plaintiff must be to a reasonably apprehended force). 14 We think it is clear that the district court did not err in concluding that the Powell elements were met in this case. There was ample evidence adduced at trial from which the district court could properly determine that Aubrey Hart reasonably believed himself to be under arrest. Likewise, the court's findings that Walker displayed a weapon, told Hart that he was under arrest, and showed the Harts an object they believed to be a badge, are all supported by the record. Moreover, the detention effected by Walker was unlawful, because neither a peace officer nor a private individual may make an arrest without a warrant unless a misdemeanor has been committed in his presence or unless he suspects that a felony has been committed. See Smith v. State, 229 So.2d 551, 556 (Miss.1970). Neither circumstance was present in this case. Thus, the district court's finding of false arrest was not clearly erroneous. 15 The court also found that Walker had assaulted the Harts. Again, we do not consider this determination to be clearly erroneous. The parties agree that assault is an intentional placing of another in reasonable apprehension of receiving an immediate battery. Perkins, Criminal Law Sec. 2 (2d ed. 1969). Mere words, without the threat of physical violence, are insufficient. See Nowell v. Henry, 194 Miss. 310, 12 So.2d 540 (1943). The Mississippi courts have characterized criminal assault as an infringement upon the right to a sense of personal security ... defined subjectively in terms of a reasonable apprehension engendered in the victim by hostile threat or gesture. Cittadino v. State, 199 Miss. 235, 24 So.2d 93, 95 (1945). The exhibition [of a gun] ... accompanied by an expression of vexed discontent [is] a sufficient gesture to support a charge of simple [criminal] assault. Edgar v. State, 202 Miss. 505, 32 So.2d 441, 442 (1947). We find no indication in Mississippi law that the standard for civil assault is different. 16 In the instant case, there was testimony that Walker put his hand on his gun. Moreover, he clearly expressed his vexed discontent to the Harts. The district court, therefore, properly concluded that the Harts' well-founded fear of imminent peril, coupled with Walker's ability to effectuate such peril, constituted assault by Walker. 17