Legal Definitions - arrestee

An arrestee is an individual who has been taken into custody by law enforcement officials, meaning they have been formally deprived of their freedom by legal authority, usually on suspicion of having committed a crime.

Here are some examples illustrating the term:

• Imagine a situation where police officers respond to a report of a disturbance at a public park. Upon arrival, they identify an individual who appears to be intoxicated and is causing a significant disruption. After assessing the situation, the officers decide to take the person into custody for public intoxication. At that moment, the individual becomes an arrestee because they have been formally arrested and are no longer free to leave.

• Consider a scenario where detectives have been investigating a series of burglaries. They gather sufficient evidence to obtain an arrest warrant for a suspect. When they locate the suspect at their residence and execute the warrant, placing the individual in handcuffs and informing them they are under arrest, that person is then referred to as an arrestee. They are now in the custody of the police, pending further legal proceedings.

• Suppose a driver is pulled over for speeding, and during the stop, the police officer discovers an outstanding warrant for their arrest related to unpaid traffic fines. The officer then informs the driver that they are being arrested on the warrant and places them in the patrol car. From that point forward, the driver is an arrestee, as their liberty has been legally restricted by the police.