Arresting a suspect without a warrant of arrest may tantamount to which of the following?

• A. Misdemeanor
• B. Malfeasance
• C. Excessive force
• D. Legal arrest

Answer: (B)

The key idea here is accountability for wrongful official actions. Arresting someone without proper legal authority or justification shows misuse of authority by a public official. Malfeasance specifically covers illegal or wrongful acts carried out by someone in an official capacity, such as making an arrest without a warrant when there isn’t lawful basis or without the proper exceptions. While warrantless arrests can be legal in certain situations (like having probable cause or exigent circumstances), doing so without justification is improper and can amount to malfeasance. A misdemeanor is just a type of crime and doesn’t describe the officer’s conduct. Excessive force concerns how the arrest is carried out, not whether the arrest itself was legally authorized. A legal arrest is the goal, meaning lawful authority and justification are present, which isn’t the case in the scenario described.