Domestic Violence in Georgia

[sbonhan]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: GEORGIA

so yesterday my daughter's father (we're still together) and i got into an argument over the stupidest thing. to avoid any more yelling and screaming i wanted to go out so that he and i can calm down a bit but he didn't want me to because our child is sick (she's constipated) and he wanted me to stay home and take care of her. but me being hard headed i wanted to go anyway and the next thing you know i was throwing money at him and that made him more mad. when i was trying to go out the through the front door he came and pulled me in and he accidently slammed the door on my arm and he pushed my throat thinking that it was my shoulder. he kept saying that i should stay home and take care of our child so i finally gave in and went to pick up my child and went out the door. but i was so angry at the time and i was shocked that he hurted me for the first time ever i went back in the house and called the cops on him hoping that they would calm him down. i SPECIFICALLY told the 911 operator that i DID NOT want to press charges against him. they sent the cops over and we both explained what happened and again i told the officers that I DID NOT WANT TO PRESS ANY CHARGES AGAINST HIM. one of the officer told me to go up stairs and they was going to talk to him alone and then i would be call down to talk to them. next thing you know i heard they cuffed him (he was cooperating not fighting back didnt even talk to them with an attitude tone of voice) i ran down stairs with my daughter. i was so scared because i specifically told them that i didn't want to press charges nor wanted him to be arrested. he told me that they had to arrest him anyway because of the state law even if i dont want to press charges the state was going to. they charged him with simple battery under the family violence law and also charged him with false imprisonment. can they do that? i didn't even give my statement because i was scared and confused. i didn't even tell my whole side of the story and they charged him. what can i do to help him? i don;t want our child to be fatherless. please help

[aardvarc]

Calling police results in a police response. Police officers are not "calmers" - they are law enforcement officers. When you report that a crime has been committed, they are obligated to act accordingly. You don't get to say that it's ok for him to commit a crime, even if you are the victim, so you wanting an arrest or not is irrelevent. Victims of crimes, despite what you see on TV, are really only witnesses to crime - it's up to the state (who represents ALL of us) to determine if charges will be brought or not. (It makes their job easier if victims are willing to cooperate, but doesn't keep cases from moving forward if they are not). So yes, they can do that since they had probable cause to believe those crimes were committed. All they needed was your statement to 911, anything you said once they arrived on scene, and their own observation of any red marks, scratches, etc.

What you can do to help him is start calling around and finding him a criminal defense attorney, as well as checking on where domestic violence offender classes and/or anger management classes are held, since there's almost a 100% chance that he's going to have to attend one or more of these, regardless of any other sentencing or outcome.

If your child witnessed any of this, you should also be seeking services from your local domestic violence program. In addition to everything else going on, the last thing you'll want to happen is for there to be problems with CPS (Child Protective Services) who could quite possibly get involved on behalf of the child. Once there has been domestic violence around the child, any additional incidents could put your custody of the child at risk for "failure to protect". This is ESPECIALLY true if the court issues a restraining order against him and tells him to stay away from you and/or the child for a period of time. Not wanting your child to be fatherless is understandable, but ultimately is out of your hands.

You can contact programs in your area for additional info and assistance.

[sbonhan]

my child did not witness anything she was away from us at the time and she was no where near us. can CPS still get involve? also if it help she is 1 y.o

[aardvarc]

CPS could theoretically get involved at any point, but is most likely to do so if any violence was witnessed by the child, regardless of age (it's partially about not wanting the child to see the violence, and partially about potential collateral danger to the child just from being in the room should things get out of hand, items get thrown, shots fired, and all the other niceties often seen with DV situations). And every agency investigates a little differently; some don't make an issue of it unless the child saw violence with their own eyes, for others, just the presence of the child anywhere in the home is enough for them to start an investigation, even if the child was asleep in another room behind closed doors and had no idea the incident was happening.

The two big triggers for such are the violation of a court order to stay away from either you or the child, or, a repeat incident of violence either around the child or in the child's home.

[sbonhan]

thank you so much for helping. i just don't know what else to do now i have to worry if the CPS is going to get involve. im just hoping they're not going to, but they did asked for her name and her age and date of birth ...... does that mean that the police file a report to the CPS? this never happened before and we never argue in front of her. we both have clean records.... is there anything i can say to the court to convince them that this is just a big missunderstanding? he was charged for false imprisonment only because he tried to keep me at home so that i can take care of our child. none of this is his fault and he's the one being blame for my selfishness

[aardvarc]

CPS probably gets forwarded a copy of the police report. Again, that doesn't necessarily mean they'll take any action if the child wasn't directly involved. A second report crossing their desk will lift eyebrows and get things underway.

he was charged for false imprisonment only because he tried to keep me at home

Which is a crime. You're an adult and free to come and go as you please. He doesn't own you, and this behavior and your ACCEPTANCE of the behavior is going to be a red flag to the court that this relationship is indeed an abusive one, even if the abuse hasn't been physical up until now.

so that i can take care of our child

He's a parent too, and this isn't going to fly with the court. He has every bit as much responsibility to the child as you, and his willingness to resort to physical action to force YOU to care for the child isn't going to bode well for how the court or CPS will evaluate his parenting skills or appropriate behavior for being around the child.

none of this is his fault and he's the one being blame for my selfishness

This is the biggest red flag of all. NO NO NO NO. He CHOSE to commit a crime. Any way you slice it. That you are of the mindset of having no inclination to hold HIM accountable for HIS own actions is going to tell the court that you AND the child are at increased risk for future violence - and the court will take that into account. His choices ARE his fault. Even IF you are selfish. There's nothing in case law anywhere that says it's ok to commit domestic violence, or any other crime, against someone who is selfish or too short, or too fat, or too annoying, or too brunette, or not a good enough cook, or whatever. Victims often have the notion that if only THEY were perfect, then their partner wouldn't drink, or do drugs, or act out, or committ domestic violence. Internalized self-blame perspectives are classic in persons involved in abusive relationships, whether or not those relationships have ever had a physical component. Minimizing is another.

As suggested, do yourself and your child a favor and contact your local domestic violence program to get some help understanding the dynamics that your relationship is occurring within. At the very least, go check out our website, you'll find good info there too. You can't work to bring positive CHANGE to something unless you understand what's broken. But trying to use the arguement that all of this is YOUR fault is exactly what a person who is living in an abusive relationship would say (and when you take into account the number of similar cases the court hears every day, believe me, they'll recognize the dynamic).

[sbonhan]

Please delete

[Billy Mack]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: GEORGIA

so yesterday my daughter's father (we're still together) and i got into an argument over the stupidest thing. to avoid any more yelling and screaming i wanted to go out so that he and i can calm down a bit but he didn't want me to because our child is sick (she's constipated) and he wanted me to stay home and take care of her. but me being hard headed i wanted to go anyway and the next thing you know i was throwing money at him and that made him more mad. when i was trying to go out the through the front door he came and pulled me in and he accidently slammed the door on my arm and he pushed my throat thinking that it was my shoulder. he kept saying that i should stay home and take care of our child so i finally gave in and went to pick up my child and went out the door. but i was so angry at the time and i was shocked that he hurted me for the first time ever i went back in the house and called the cops on him hoping that they would calm him down. i SPECIFICALLY told the 911 operator that i DID NOT want to press charges against him. they sent the cops over and we both explained what happened and again i told the officers that I DID NOT WANT TO PRESS ANY CHARGES AGAINST HIM. one of the officer told me to go up stairs and they was going to talk to him alone and then i would be call down to talk to them. next thing you know i heard they cuffed him (he was cooperating not fighting back didnt even talk to them with an attitude tone of voice) i ran down stairs with my daughter. i was so scared because i specifically told them that i didn't want to press charges nor wanted him to be arrested. he told me that they had to arrest him anyway because of the state law even if i dont want to press charges the state was going to. they charged him with simple battery under the family violence law and also charged him with false imprisonment. can they do that? i didn't even give my statement because i was scared and confused. i didn't even tell my whole side of the story and they charged him. what can i do to help him? i don;t want our child to be fatherless. please help

OCGA 17-4-20.1 requires that a report be made when an officer investigates an act of family violence. The law doesn't require an arrest when probable cause exists, but many agencies have mandatory arrest policies.

The victim does not get a say in the matter.