What does “reasonable mistake” refer to in the context of a citizen's arrest?

In the context of a citizen's arrest, "reasonable mistake" refers specifically to the situation where a person misidentifies the individual committing a felony. Citizens have the authority to make arrests in certain situations, typically involving felonies they have personally observed or have a reasonable belief about. If a person makes a mistake in identifying someone as the perpetrator of a crime, and that mistake is grounded in reasonable belief based on the facts available to them at the time, then this misidentification can be accounted for under the legal standards regarding citizen's arrest.

This understanding is crucial because it acknowledges that while the person making the arrest must act with some level of care and reasonableness, they can still be protected from liability even if they mistakenly identify the wrong individual, as long as their belief was justified under the circumstances. Misidentification does not automatically negate the possibility of a reasonable mistake, provided that the mistake is deemed reasonable based on the information at hand at the time of the event.