Domestic Violence

8 Pages 2057 Words

o started the fight and he asks the wife if she wants him arrested. The woman declines. When he mentions that, by law, he does not need her approval to make the arrest, the woman begins to cry and tells the officer that if her husband is arrested, he will not be able to get to work and will lose his job. She adds that if he misses work, they will be unable to pay their rent or provide food for the children. When the officer announces his intention to arrest the husband anyway, the children begin to cry and grab onto their father's legs. The husband tells the officer "She scratched me first, she should be arrested."
The officer is now confronted with a situation that poses many problems. Both parties involved do not want police intervention. If he ignores their wishes, who does he arrest or does he arrest both? What about the children? Will they be left with one of the parents or placed in a children's home until the parents are released from custody? What happens if he takes no action? The officer knows that the wife is probably correct when she says that, should the husband not go to work in the morning, he likely will lose his job. He also knows that, despite rules against it, landlords do throw out their renters when they fail to pay.
The officer works in a state that has mandatory arrest laws for felony domestic violence. A felony is defined as causing a traumatic injury. Both the husband and wife have injuries that, although minor, do meet the legal definition. If the officer chooses to handle the incident as a misdemeanor domestic violence inc...