Citizen's Arrest In America and Canada

Please research the fascinating, sometimes frightening, history of citizen's arrest;

Nadra Enzi ——Bio and Archives--February 17, 2026

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As fate would have it I had a discussion on the X social media platform about citizen's arrest yesterday. A conservative friend supported the unlawful detention and murder of Ahmaud Arbery by an imprisoned father-son team of ex-law enforcement officers.

The case resulted in the state of Georgia repealing its citizen's arrest statute. This was accomplished by a Republican governor with a majority GOP state legislature: In Ahmaud Arbery's Name, Georgia Repeals Citizen's Arrest Law

Imagine my surprise this morning upon reading about a trending citizen's arrest in Canada: Alleged citizen’s arrest in Calgary goes viral, raising questions about excessive forceThe Canadian case involved apprehension of an alleged shoplifter who fought a pursuer and was subdued.

Greater surprise arrived this afternoon upon learning that bar patrons performed a citizen's arrest on a celebrity in town for Mardi Gras: R Bar patrons detained Shia LaBeouf after actor punched 2 people at Marigny hotspot, NOPD says

My 'safety creation' work also availed itself of this English common law power found in the US and Canada while doing uniformed retail security, plain clothes loss prevention and working the door at bars.

I've caught shoplifters and either served as a witness or produced one to justify the detention, along with presenting stolen merchandise as evidence, to responding officers.

In the bar and event arena my most recent citizen's arrest was a few years ago when I detained and returned a bar patron who'd skipped out on paying his tab near closing time.

He announced he wasn't paying for his drinks and stormed out.

I caught him a few blocks away and walked him back in a restraint hold. Let the record reflect there was no violence and he could breathe throughout detention.

The upset female bartender was overjoyed and the detained patron paid what he owed.

I caution would-be 'citizen's arresters' out there to generally avoid doing this. It should be done when you're absolutely sure a theft or other crime has occured in a jurisdiction where it's legal to detain another private person.

Make sure your justification is airtight or you will regret it.

You don't want to place yourself in a situation where you're taken into custody by law enforcement, prosecuted and possibly sued by a former captive.

Citizen's arrest in America and Canada happens every day. The key is doing it lawfully and withstanding scrutiny by crime enablers already loudly opposed to police officers arresting suspects, much less when private persons do it.

At any rate, please research the fascinating, sometimes frightening, history of citizen's arrest.

Nadra Enzi aka Cap Black does 'Borrow A Brother' volunteer safety escorts for female friends and worthy causes in New Orleans.

EVENT AND EVERYDAY PEOPLE PROTECTOR. ADVOCATE.

Nadra Enzi AKA Cap Black is a philosophical protector specializing in security management beside event organizers and owners of establishments serving the general public. (Substack)

Cap Black is a contributor to Canada Free Press, a security writer on touchy topics; security advisor/founder of Borrow A Brother volunteer safety escorts for female friends concerned about carjackings robbery and sexual assault. $realbrocap on Cash App

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