It was argued that a fight between two persons could not support the arrest of both for breach of the peace. Holding that the arrestor did not have to decide on the merits of the dispute.
Held: ‘If no one could be restrained of his liberty, in cases of mutual conflict, except the party who did the first wrong, and the bystanders acted at their peril in this respect, there would be very little chance of the public peace being preserved by the interference of private individuals, nor indeed of police officers, whose power of interposition on their own view appears not to differ [at common law] from that of any of the King’s other subjects.’
Judges:
Parke B
Citations:
(1835) 1 CM and R 757
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Torts – Other, Police
Updated: 23 November 2022; Ref: scu.199775