As criminal defense lawyers, we know that whenever law enforcement responds to the scene of a domestic violence call, they’re going to look at the totality of the evidence. This includes:Who called 9-1-1?Are any witness statements?Are there injuries on either parties?How does this match up with the given statements?
Why Would The Person Who Called 9-1-1 Be Arrested?
If you did call 9-1-1 but all the evidence is lined up against you, you can still be arrested. In fact, we’ve had a past client who indicated that they were a victim of domestic violence, they called to report it, and ended up getting arrested. When law enforcement arrived at the scene; the other party had visible injuries, while our client did not.
Although my client was the one who was being attacked and ended up scratching the other party to defend themselves, law enforcement could only rely on two statements and the other party’s injury, and they placed my client under arrest.
While calling 9-1-1 is certainly a factor that will come into play for the law enforcement’s investigation at the time, it’s a small factor when compared with the totality of the evidence. This is something that will come into play later on after the arrest. Whenever prosecution is deciding whether or not to charge somebody with a crime, there’s more opportunity to present the full story.
In my client’s case, I was able to do just that — explain that my client was defending themselves, where the injury came from, and that my client was the one that called law enforcement. The charge was eventually dismissed.
