Can Police Arrest Without a Warrant?

This week an MBC report entitled “Police Operation Descends into Chaos” brought to light an arrest of a 19-year-old male resident of George Charles Boulevard, Marchand last Friday. A woman who described herself as the man’s big sister complained at the scene that the police had arrested her brother without a warrant and had refused to explain why. Also interviewed was Pearl Ramsey, mother of Chad Ramsey, who was killed last April. She said the police not only have not caught the suspect, but more than that, he was not the man arrested on Friday.  

“I will not be specific as to why the 19-year-old was brought in,” said ACP Wayne Charlery. “However, the officers were operating credibly and they apprehended the young man in relation to an ongoing investigation into a homicide.” He further stated that normally the police require a warrant to conduct home searches, but officers are free to enter any public place to speak to, engage, or to pursue anybody with reference to any crime.” 

Of Friday’s arrest specifically, Charlery stated: “I cannot verify that the police officers entered the George Charles Boulevard premises to apprehend the young man in question, but normally if you are going to enter a house to carry out any searches or to make an arrest you would require a warrant. However, if someone has committed a felony, then runs away, even into a home, the police may enter to apprehend the felon.”

According to Saint Lucia’s Criminal Code: “A police officer may arrest without warrant anyone he or she, with reasonable cause, suspects to be in the act of committing or is about to commit an offence. Where a police officer with reasonable cause suspects that an offence has been committed he or she may arrest without warrant anyone whom he or she, with reasonable cause, suspects committed the offence. For the purposes of arresting a person under any power conferred by this section, a police officer may enter (if need be, by force) and search any place where that person is or where the police officer with reasonable cause, suspects him or her to be.”

Charlery confirmed the search is still on for Chad Ramsey’s killer and there is a warrant out for his arrest. “We believe we have sufficient evidence to charge when we actually arrest him and therefore a warrant of arrest has been issued in the first instance for him. So this makes him a defendant in the case.”