False Imprisonment and Statements to Law Enforcement

In order to establish a cause of action for false imprisonment, a plaintiff must prove four elements: 1) unlawful detention and loss of liberty; 2) against his will; 3) without legal authority; and 4) unnecessary under the circumstances. See Harder v. Edwards, 174 So.3d 524, 530 (Fla. 4th 2015). In order to hold a private citizen liable for false imprisonment, a plaintiff has to show that the defendant participated in more than merely reporting an incident. Id. There must be a demonstration that the defendant specifically requested the arrest of the plaintiff. 

Courts have found that the private citizen in speaking with law enforcement, must make an affirmative request that an individual be arrested. Id. Normally there must be statements made by the private citizen such as “arrest that person!” or “put that person behind bars” in order for there to be grounds that a private citizen was responsible for someone being falsely arrested. Id. A mere mistake in identifying someone or what they did is not enough. Id. Thus, holding a private citizen responsible for false imprisonment by law enforcement is a high burden that in most cases will not be met.