Can police refuse to listen to my testimony if they arrest me?

[Melegalquestion12]

I was accused of domestic violence and arrested without being allowed to give my testimony. The situation was that my spouse contacted police after an argument. She did not fear for her physical safety but was instead hoping the police presence would "shock" me and teach me a lesson. She did not realize I could be arrested because she had no intention of pressing charges. I won’t go into all the details, but she admitted to the police that she attacked me (I did not initiate any physicality) when she became frustrated. She ended up with a minor lip injury (of her own doing), and told the police she did not remember how the injury occurred (due to her being emotional, drugged on sleep medication, and due to it being very dark). Despite her statement the police chose to accuse me anyway and issued a warrant (they even made up lies in their report which my wife unsuccessfully tried to get them to change – they refused to return her calls). I left the scene to allow us to cool down before police were contacted so I was unaware of these events until I got home and my wife told me. I then turned myself in. When they arrived they refused to listen to my version of the events, and my wife was telling them they had gotten it wrong and they shouldn’t arrest me. They still arrested me and put me in jail for a “cool off” period (ironic since I was not the one who caused her harm and we were both completely calm and holding hands upon their arrival). We had the case dismissed and my record expunged, but I’m still being administratively reprimanded and forced into “domestic violence” therapy by the military for something I didn’t do, based on a false police report, written by an officer who wasn’t there, with both witnesses saying the report was false. I also face possible career repercussions even though my records were expunged (a google search still shows the arrest occurred and states why). When I asked the police if I could make a statement, they told me I would have to save it for the judge after I served my jail “cool off” sentence. I’ve had a horrible experience from this and I’m wondering if the officers broke the law by arresting me for a crime and refusing to even listen to my side of the story. This is particularly puzzling to me since my spouse admitted to a crime and I they could have deduced I was acting in self-defense. It’s also puzzling that they refused to return my wife’s call and change their report. I feel like making a complaint or even filing legal action. Do I have any legitimate grievance here?

 

[Taxing Matters]

In what state did this occur?

All the police need to make an arrest is probable cause to believe you committed an offense. This is not a very high standard. You are faced with a situation in which your wife called the cops for a domestic dispute and when they arrive they find that she has an injury and cannot (or will not) tell the cops how she got it. You, on the other hand, were not injured. You also have her telling them there was an argument between you that lead to her calling for help. Cops also know that domestic violence victims are often emotional and not always totally coherent in their statements. Men are also most often the aggressors in domestic violence, which cops also know. So given all that, a cop coming on the scene might well believe you were the aggressor. At least there would be enough for probable cause there. That injury was probably the most significant piece of evidence, frankly. You also have the circumstance that you left for awhile and who knows what your wife actually told them while your were gone. Sure, after the fact she's going to tell you she didn't implicate you at all, but perhaps her statements still sounded like she was accusing you of attacking her to them.

The cops didn't have to take your statement prior to the arrest. If from the evidence I described above, they'd likely assume you'd deny everything anyway. And, moreover, you should not have made a statement to the cops anyway without a lawyer present. When the cops are questioning you as a possible suspect, rarely are you going to do yourself good by talking to them. But you can certainly make things much worse. Lots of suspects think that what they have to say will get them out of trouble only to find out later that what they said actually make it sound like they may be guilty. You have the right to remain silent and you should exercise that in situations like this one.

Note that the police report is not evidence that could be used against you had you gone to trial. It is hearsay under the rules of evidence and not admissible.

What the military does with the information is has is another matter. The police aren't responsible for that problem. And I see no good lawsuit against the police just given what you have stated here. But feel free to consult an attorney who litigates civil rights violations to see if you have something to pursue here. Many attorneys will give you a free initial consultation.

A spouse that is truly attacked should always call for help. But a spouse who calls the police when she has not been attacked just to "teach him a lesson" as you allege your wife did makes a huge mistake because once the police show she cannot control how things go from there and there is a good chance someone is going to go to jail if there are signs of a physical injury. And you have experienced yourself the consequences of that. Assuming your version of events is accurate, it is the fault of your wife that you are in this situation. The police would never have shown up in the first place if she had not made that bogus call for help.

Again, any spouse who is really attacked should call for help. I certainly don't want anyone thinking I'm discouraging anyone calling for help when it's really needed. But on the other hand, it's a crime to call 911 on a false claim of being attacked, and it can spiral out of control and have unexpected, and unwanted consequences.

 

[xylene]

Testimony is for court. This is 21st century America, DV does not get explained away.

Bluntly, the police are not called except for real situations. If my spouse called the police to "teach me a lesson" I would be separating and getting a divorce. This is something to consider doing, if this is how you understand what happened.

You need counseling. Badly. And having an out of control home which required police intervention, which is true - you did, certainly merits an administrative reprimand.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Testimony is for court. This is 21st century America, DV does not get explained away.

Bluntly, the police are not called except for real situations. If my spouse called the police to "teach me a lesson" I would be separating and getting a divorce. This is something to consider doing, if this is how you understand what happened.

You need counseling. Badly. And having an out of control home which required police intervention, which is true - you did, certainly merits an administrative reprimand.

Or at least get into marriage counselling. And unless this was a one time, unexpected/inadvertent reaction to mixing alcohol and meds, rehab should be considered.

A false report is kind of a huge breach of trust in a relationship, if it was truly false.