Can you be charged with resisting citizen's arrest?

Bounty hunters and bail bondsman have some particular protections to do their job but their actual authority to arrest is no more than any other private citizen. If you injured them you could be charged with assault and battery but not resisting arrest. You could be sued for injury also. But no you can't be charged with resisting arrest because while they have a right to detain you, they have no authority under law. Kind of confusing. A police officer has authority to enforce law and use force granted by a city, state or national government. They are an officer of the law. A citizen regardless of their private profession has no such authority. Security guards, bail bondsman, bounty hunters and so on have the same rights as all other citizens but no actual legal authority.

Hiram has got that bit right - even when a cop is unidentifiable as a cop and grabs you, you will undoubtedly be charged and convicted of whatever. This gives considerable food for thought about the orientation of the courts, doesn't it?

As a retired security guy (hey, wouldn't you want some psycho who failed the police entrance shrink to look after your property? - just kidding), the rule was that yes, you can make a citizen's arrest, but you'd better be damned sure that you have the facts and witnesses down cold, or you can be charged yourself and/or sued.

Therefore it follows that you probably shouldn't be charged with resisting where a person attempts to arrest you, but cannot prove the facts and is not a police officer - but I doubt the courts would look at it that way if you were on the run, and the guy was a bail bondsman.

Remember that the definition of self-defence is malleable to the courts, and can be, and often is, arbitrarily applied to the 'good guy' rather than the 'bad guy', who, by being the 'bad guy' somehow forfeits all rights (which is wrong - even mass murderers have rights). You'd probbly end up charged with assault as well as whatever you were skipping bail from.

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Anything is possible, but it is highly unlikely. In very few cases is a citizen's arrest a wise choice to make. Do it wrong, and you can end up in more trouble than the person you are attempting to "arrest". You will most likely be kicked in the nuts and stabbed in the throat by a guy eating a cheeseburger, and then arrested yourself by the real cops.

good luck on that one my cousin had a citizens arrest by a off duty cop out of his jurisdiction, that had no identification & ended up getting 30 days in jail.

yes in this sueing every penny day and age the person being ''arrested'' could probably sue the other person. But you would be caught and properly arrested...

you probley wouldnt be charged as bad if you didnt know it was a cop but if you know its a cop you can get like 5years in jail. or have to pay a mayjor amount.

There is no charges on that unless you hit them or have a weapon.