Is It Legal to Conduct A Citizens Arrest in Maine?

Yesterday, my wife Nelly and I were driving in Downtown Lewiston and we saw a good amount of police presence dealing with some sort of obvious criminal situation.

I turned to her and said, "I wonder if you can make a citizen's arrest in Maine". After that, I went full on "Alice in Wonderland" and got lost in a rabbit hole of research.

I ended up finding that it is totally legal in the state of Maine to perform a citizens arrest in this day in age. However, it is surprising to me.

Let me break it down for you and this is according to Maine.gov.

In Maine, if you catch someone red-handed committing a crime, you can play the hero and make a citizen's arrest.

But hold up, cowgirl, there are some rules to follow. You will have to tell the suspect clearly why you're performing a citizens arrest and then hand them over to the real police ASAP!

And remember, you can't get too physical - only use the force necessary to make the arrest, as Maine.gov states. 

There was also an article put out back in 2007 by The Sun Journal that stated a local photographer helped to capture a fugitive after being asked by police to help.

The article went on to say that Maine legal statutes say that citizens are obliged to assist police in capturing a suspect if ordered to do so by the officer.

This is another way that a citizen's arrest took place, back in 2007.

So if you are in a predicament where you are so inclined to save the day, it is in fact LEGAL to perform a citizens arrest in Maine.

What do you think about that?

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