Minnesota Session Laws - 1986, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1986 

                        CHAPTER 405-S.F.No. 1730 
           An act relating to theft; modifying circumstances 
          justifying detention of suspects in business 
          establishments; modifying immunity from liability for 
          detention; amending Minnesota Statutes 1985 
          Supplement, section 629.366, subdivisions 1 and 3.  
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1985 Supplement, section 
629.366, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  [CIRCUMSTANCES JUSTIFYING DETENTION.] (a) A 
merchant or merchant's employee may detain a person for the sole 
purpose of delivering him or her to a peace officer if the 
merchant or employee has reasonable cause to believe: 
    (1) that the person has taken, or is taking, an article of 
value without paying for it, from the possession of the merchant 
in his or her place of business or from a vehicle or premises 
under the merchant's control; 
    (2) that the taking is done with the intent to wrongfully 
deprive the merchant of the property or the use or benefit of 
it; or 
    (3) that the taking is done with the intent to appropriate 
the use of the property to the taker or any other person.  
    (b) Subject to the limitations in paragraph (a), a merchant 
or merchant's employee may detain a person for any of the 
following purposes: 
    (1) to require the person to provide identification or 
verify identification; 
    (2) to inquire as to whether the person possesses 
unpurchased merchandise taken from the merchant and, if so, to 
receive the merchandise; 
    (3) to inform a peace officer; or 
    (4) to institute criminal proceedings against the person. 
    (c) The merchant or employee shall deliver the detained 
person to a peace officer without unnecessary delay.  The person 
detained shall be informed promptly of the purpose of the 
detention and may not be subjected to unnecessary or 
unreasonable force, nor to interrogation against his or her 
will.  A merchant or merchant's employee may not detain a person 
for more than one hour unless: 
     (1) the merchant or employee is waiting to surrender the 
person to a peace officer, in which case the person may be 
detained until a peace officer has accepted custody of or 
released the person; or 
    (2) the person is a minor, or claims to be, and the 
merchant or employee is waiting to surrender the minor to a 
peace officer or the minor's parent, guardian, or custodian, in 
which case the minor may be detained until the peace officer, 
parent, guardian, or custodian has accepted custody of the minor.
    (d) If at any time the person detained requests that a 
peace officer be summoned, the merchant or merchant's employee 
must notify a peace officer immediately. 
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1985 Supplement, section 
629.366, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 3.  [IMMUNITY.] No merchant, merchant's employee, or 
peace officer is criminally or civilly liable for false arrest 
or false imprisonment or wrongful detention any action 
authorized under subdivision 1 or 2 if the arresting person's 
action is based upon reasonable cause. 
    Approved March 24, 1986