Being Handcuffed by the Police Doesn't Necessarily Mean You're Under Arrest
Just because the police handcuff you does not necessarily mean you're under arrest. That's what the Florida Supreme Court ruled in a case called Reynolds v. State of Florida.
In Reynolds, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that it is legal for a police officer to handcuff someone if the officer reasonably believes that it is necessary to do so in order to protect the officer's safety or to prevent that person from fleeing. However, handcuffing a person in this situation does not necessarily mean that the person is under arrest; it may simply mean that the person is being temporarily detained while the officer conducts his investigation.
The Reynolds Court cited to a case from Alaska called Howard v. State of Alaska which held that a person who had been handcuffed and had guns drawn on him by police officers was not under arrest but was simply being detained while the police conducted their investigation.
So the next time a police officer points a gun at you and puts handcuffs on your wrists, just remember--you may not be under arrest.
