TRUE or FALSE: If the officer has probable cause and the court finds probable cause existed at the time of arrest, the officer is not liable for false arrest or imprisonment.

• A. FALSE
• B. Not necessarily
• C. TRUE
• D. It depends on jurisdiction

Answer: (C)

Probable cause at the moment of arrest makes the seizure lawful, so a false arrest claim isn’t supported when there was probable cause. If the officer had probable cause and a court later finds that it existed at the time, the arrest is justified and the officer isn’t liable for false arrest or false imprisonment based on that arrest. It’s important to note that other civil claims, like malicious prosecution or false imprisonment for reasons other than the initial arrest, can still arise, but they involve different elements and aren’t about false arrest in this scenario.