ID: Hot pursuit to execute an arrest warrant with entry is reasonable

Hot or “fresh pursuit” to execute an arrest warrant with entry is reasonable. State v. Clark, 2021 Ida. LEXIS 55 (Mar. 30, 2021):

In Clark’s case, the officers “reasonably suspected [Clark] of having committed a felony” such that they were in “fresh pursuit” of him when they attempted to execute the warrant for his arrest. See I.C. § 19-705. Like the officers in Schwarz, who learned from Schwarz himself of his outstanding warrant, the officers responding to the robbery learned from dispatch that Clark had an outstanding felony warrant for his arrest in Nez Perce County. An arrest warrant may only be issued after a magistrate determines that there is “probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that the defendant committed it.” I.C.R. 4(a). Consequently, the existence of a warrant for Clark’s arrest gave the officers a legal basis to arrest him. As a result, the officers were in “fresh pursuit” of Clark when they pursued him to execute the validly issued arrest warrant. In turn, the statutory definition of “fresh pursuit” plainly includes pursuit to execute a validly issued arrest warrant. Because we hold that the statutory definition applies, we do not consider the common law definition as it pertains to Clark.