Opinion ID: 852584
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Probable Cause for Houseworth's Arrest of Row

Text: The foregoing discussion relates solely to Holt's lack of probable cause. Houseworth presents a different issue. He could not recall whether he had heard of the feud between Row and the Bowlings/Simons prior to Row's arrest. Houseworth knew only that there had been a battery and some alcohol involved before he arrived at Row's house. This information came from Holt, who told Houseworth that she had a signed battery affidavit from the victim. When Houseworth returned to Row's house after verifying Row's identification, Holt told Houseworth that she had been pushed, and Houseworth observed Holt attempting to handcuff Row. It was only after seeing Row resist Holt's attempts that Houseworth stepped in and handcuffed Row. An officer may, in good faith, rely on information communicated by another officer to establish probable cause. So long as sufficient knowledge to establish probable cause exists within the organization, the arrest is valid based on the collective information of the officers. Kindred v. State, 524 N.E.2d 279, 292 (Ind.1988); see also Moody v. State, 448 N.E.2d 660 (Ind.1983) (officer acting in good faith reliance on police radio dispatcher had probable cause to conduct warrantless search of automobile). Conversely, a warrantless arrest by an officer acting on unreliable information supplied by another officer is not based on probable cause and violates the Fourth Amendment. Whether the arrest violates the Fourth Amendment is not, however, necessarily determinative of the arresting officer's civil liability for false arrest. The Supreme Court of the United States, in Whiteley v. Warden, 401 U.S. 560, 91 S.Ct. 1031, 28 L.Ed.2d 306 (1971), addressed an arrest by an officer who relied on communications from another officer to make the arrest. Specifically, a Laramie, Wyoming policeman had arrested two men in response to a bulletin that stated that a warrant for their arrest had been issued in another part of the state. Id. at 563-64, 91 S.Ct. 1031. It turned out that the warrant was invalid because it was issued on a conclusory complaint. Id. at 565, 91 S.Ct. 1031. In concluding that the arrest was not lawful, the Court stated: We do not, of course, question that the Laramie police were entitled to act on the strength of the radio bulletin. Certainly police officers called upon to aid other officers in executing arrest warrants are entitled to assume that the officers requesting aid offered the magistrate the information requisite to support an independent judicial assessment of probable cause. Where, however, the contrary turns out to be true, an otherwise illegal arrest cannot be insulated from challenge by the decision of the instigating officer to rely on fellow officers to make the arrest. Id. at 568, 91 S.Ct. 1031. This has been understood to imply that the arresting officer is himself not at fault and thus should not be held personally responsible in a civil action or disciplinary proceedings if it turns out that there was no probable cause at the source. Wayne R. LaFave & Jerold H. Israel, Criminal Procedure § 3.3, at 208 (1984). This is sometimes expressed as a good faith defense [6] or qualified immunity. [7] Civil liability for common law false arrest is a matter of state law. Governmental actors under some circumstances enjoy a qualified privilege for discretionary acts. Cantrell v. Morris, 849 N.E.2d 488, 496 (Ind.2006) (citing Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982); Kiddy-Brown v. Blagojevich, 408 F.3d 346, 352 (7th Cir.2005)). Whether law enforcement officers enjoy such a privilege against a false arrest claim after the Tort Claims Act is an issue not addressed by the parties and one we do not resolve today. We think, however, that apart from the law of qualified privilege, it may also be the case that the arresting officer is not negligent. Qualified privilege can be resolved as a matter of law on undisputed facts. Unlike the qualified privilege, negligence is usually a question for the finder of fact, but it may in some cases be resolved as a matter of law. New York, Chicago & St. Louis R.R. Co. v. Henderson, 237 Ind. 456, 480-81, 146 N.E.2d 531, 545 (1957). Houseworth testified that when he returned to the house Holt told him that Row had shoved her, and he found the two struggling. Row did not contradict that testimony. Houseworth, therefore, reasonably believed he had probable cause to arrest Row, and even if the trier of fact concludes that the arrest was not based on probable cause because Holt's claims were incorrect, Houseworth has no civil liability. Accordingly, the trial court properly entered summary judgment in favor of Houseworth and the other County defendants.