Mercurius

The action is for damages for false imprisonment and alleged assault and battery. At the close of the evidence in a jury trial the court granted a motion for nonsuit upon the cause of action for false imprisonment. The cause of action for assault and battery was submitted to the jury, which failed to agree. The appeal is from the judgment of nonsuit.

Plaintiff was taken into custody by defendant police officers, Rolon and Logan, as a burglary-rape suspect and was detained about 30 minutes at a police station. He was not booked, fingerprinted or photographed, nor was any permanent record made of his detention.

The question on appeal is whether, as a matter of law, defendants had probable cause for the arrest. This depends upon whether probable cause was shown by evidence which was not in substantial conflict. (White v. Martin, 215 Cal.App.2d 641 [ 30 Cal.Rptr. 367 ].) There was evidence of the following facts: The defendants were police officers of the City of Los Angeles on the occasion in question, assigned to University Division of the Los Angeles Police Department and were on special assignment as such police officers to apprehend a burglary-rape suspect.

As a standard…