DRAGNA v. WHITE (1955)

Appellant insists that the decisions in Kaufman v. Brown, 93 Cal.App.2d 508, 209 P.2d 156, and Peckham v. Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., 36 Cal.App.2d 214, 97 P.2d 472, are pertinent and authorize a reversal. In the Kaufman case, the allegation is that the policemen and the officers of the Waiters and Bartenders Union, without an order, warrant or process, forcibly arrested and imprisoned plaintiff and detained him for 24 hours in the city jail.

Appellant pleads himself out of the theory of those decisions by alleging the circumstances of his arrest, showing probable cause. The allegations are that the accused was arrested at 10 p. m. on the thirteenth day of February, and that he was delivered into the custody of the jailor at 3 a. m. on February 14; that he was suspected of murder, of being a member of a criminal gang, had been under surveillance for nine months.

Where the police have reason to believe that a person has committed murder, it is their duty to apprehend, hold and investigate. When appellant was handed over to the care and keeping of the jailor, his detention by respondents ceased. Mackie v. Ambassador Hotel & Investment Corp., 123 Cal.App. 215, 222, 11 P.2d 3; Gisske v. Sanders, 9 Cal.App. 13, 15, 98 P. 43. Respondents did not have custody of appellant while he was incarcerated in the city jail. Ibidem. Holding plaintiff five hours while investigating such serious charges was not unreasonable oppression of a person who had the reputation of being a ‘mobster’ and ‘member of a criminal gang.’

Motion for rehearing denied.

PER CURIAM.