Being A Good Samaritan Carries Legal Risks

ORANGEVALE (CBS13) — An Orangevale neighborhood was shaken from a sound sleep early in the morning after a high-speed chase ends in a crash.

A homeowner helped to capture a suspect for police, but a law professors CBS13 spoke to says he took a big risk being a good Samaritan.

Tony Butts was in his Orangevale home on Wednesday morning when he heard sirens and a crash outside. Officers were hunting for a suspect in his backyard.

"I got up to see what was going on. A guy was coming through my back fence so I chased him down," he said. "When he came around the corner I tackled him under the swing set."

Investigators say it all unfolded after the suspect led officers on a high-speed chase through Sacramento County.

Butts says he got to the man before police did.

"I had him in a headlock and stuff and my dad and uncle were around me making sure he didn't get up," he said. "The dog was on top of him by the time I let him go."

Butts says it's the second time he's captured a suspect in his neighborhood.

"It didn't bother me. Its nothing new," he said.

Floyd Feeney, a professor at the UC Davis School of Law, says extenuating circumstances may call for physical intervention. But he's concerned some well-intentioned good Samaritans can make bad decisions and end up in jail, or looking for a good lawyer.

"The person who was tackled or harmed may sue you," he said.

Sacramento County Sheriff's spokeswoman Lisa Bowman says the situation can go quickly from bad to worse.

"You don't know this person and we don't know this person," she said. "You don't know if he is armed. You don't know what kind of weapons he and she has on them."

Fortunately, Butts wasn't hurt.

But Feeney says being a good eyewitness for police can be just as effective as getting physically involved.

"You shouldn't get out there too far unless you have very special skills and capabilities and most people don't, even if they think they do," he said.

Orangevale investigators say the suspect could face DUI and evading police charges.