[quote]NickViar wrote:
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
[quote]NickViar wrote:
(I also oppose prosecuting the offender in shootings, stabbings, etc. with a victim that doesn’t want to do so). [/quote]
So I assume you are against murder prosecutions unless the victim presses charges.
[/quote]
Clever reply, but incorrect(and, truthfully, not all that clever-a victim that DOES NOT WANT TO press charges is obviously different than a victim that CAN NOT press charges). If someone’s life is taken(or the extent of one’s injury is such that they are no longer able to make or communicate decisions), then I’m okay with assuming that the person would NOT have consented to such(if he wanted death, he would have killed himself). Of course, if a person was to consent to being killed, while alive and conscious of what he’s consenting to, then I am okay with allowing the person to be killed(I don’t believe Jack Kevorkian to be a criminal…and wouldn’t think of him as such even if he had shot the people that wanted to die in their heads instead of just assisting them with suicide).
What I was talking about was more of a fight that results in one party being cut a couple of times, that person going to the hospital, the hospital calling for police response, and the police having to work the case, despite the “victim” obviously not wanting to pursue the matter. I have a feeling that Brett can verify how common such situations are. I don’t think police need to be helping either people that don’t want to help themselves(many domestic violence “victims”), people that don’t want to cooperate because they are afraid of blowback, or people that would just rather deal with a couple of cuts than to have to go to court.[/quote]
It happens all the time. Mostly with the complainants being neighbors and roommates.
And not only is there the law when dealing with domestics, but you also have departmental policy. Our General Orders actually stipulate that that with domestics, “The preferred response is arrest.” And often in practice, probable cause is not even the standard. It’s reasonable suspicion. If police DO NOT make a arrest (and with a DV misdemeanor, the suspect has to be physically be taken into custody, not issued a citation due to the “likeliness of the offense to continue”), and there is a incident an hour later and the victim ends up in the hospital, that officer is going to be severely disciplined. ** Even when there appears no PC on the prior event!
So officers in fear of making a wrong decision, often err on the side of arrest. An arrest effectively separates the two parties so there will be no further threats or violence. This is almost 100% true is you have a “victim” who wants to prosecute, and there is questionable evidence. I’m telling you, you wouldn’t believe some to the complexities with domestic violence.
What do you think the burden of proof is to obtain an Order of Protection??