CPL § 140.15

Arrest without a warrant; when and how made by police officer · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 140.15 Arrest without a warrant; when and how made by police officer.

1. A police officer may arrest a person for an offense, pursuant to section 140.10, at any hour of any day or night.

2. The arresting police officer must inform such person of his authority and purpose and of the reason for such arrest unless he encounters physical resistance, flight or other factors rendering such procedure impractical.

3. In order to effect such an arrest, such police officer may use such physical force as is justifiable pursuant to section 35.30 of the penal law.

4. In order to effect such an arrest, a police officer may enter premises in which he reasonably believes such person to be present, under the same circumstances and in the same manner as would be authorized, by the provisions of subdivisions four and five of section 120.80, if he were attempting to make such arrest pursuant to a warrant of arrest.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/140.15

In plain English

(1) A police officer may make an authorized warrantless arrest at any hour, day or night.
(2) The arresting officer must state the officer’s authority, purpose, and reason for arrest unless resistance, flight, or another circumstance makes that impractical. ★
(3) The officer may use force justified by Penal Law § 35.30.
(4) The officer may enter premises where the person is reasonably believed present under the same conditions and manner authorized by § 120.80(4)-(5) for a warrant arrest.

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 2 — The Court Officer: Criminal Procedure Law; Volume 2 — Your Career: Criminal Procedure in Plain English.