Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in California
If a store employee made a report about me to police for alleged "suspicious" behavior because I locked the keys to my rental car inside, the door was not shut all the way, and I was buying some stiff wire to try to push the unlock button to open the door. The car was on private property that the owners had givin me permission to be on and I may have appeared somewhat tense because I locked myself out while it was dark outside and had to set up a tent and sleep with sand and rocks below me see I did not get much sleep. I told the store employee that I was going to try to open the car I had rented since I had locked my keys inside. In summary, I was reported for appearing suspicious to someone and while I was walking back to my rental car a policeman pulled over behind me and asked where the car was, why I was there, what my name was, and if I had ever been arrested. Is it legal to make a police report in this circumstance even though I did not break any law?
Law Office of Edward A. Hoffman's answer:
Of course it's legal. Even you admit that your actions appeared suspicious. The shopkeeper did not have to believe your story. More generally, people are not required to be certain a crime is being committed before they call the police. Such a requirement would result in a lot more crimes, and a lot fewer arrests.
New Question:
I didn't say that I agreed with the employee that I looked suspicious, I said that I may have appeared tense to other people. I also did mean to give the impression that I thought it is illegal to report something without being certain of criminal activity. There was no reason for anyone to think I was about to break any law. If the person who made the report said something about me that was false and damaging to my reputation isn't that slander and against the law? Or is it harrassment?
2 Answers from Attorneys
You have no case. You have no damages.
Aside from the fact that you have no damages, California law protects accusers who call the police from lawsuits, period. Civil Code Section 47(b). Anyone has the absolute right to call the police and accuse you of anything at all, even if the accusation is false and malicious. The theory is that people shouldn't be afraid to call the police and report crimes. (This answer only applies to calls made to the police, different standards apply to accusations made to other people and under other circumstances.)
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