Do the police have to ask you if you want to press charges for assault?

Question

My Husband and I got into a huge Saturday. I called the police after he started slamming furniture around. The fight was physical. When the police got here it was not even three min. and they were arresting him for resisting arrest. All because he did not get off the phone right away. The tackled him to the ground infont of my kids. Then they started taking my statement and taking pictures of everything. Never did they ask me if I wanted to press charges. I thought they would just ask him to leave the house for a while and maybe get a ticket for disorderly conduct. Now the DA's office refuses to drop the charges. We both just want to go to anger managment classes and fix our marriage. What do we do? We live in Wisconsin just in case that makes a difference with the laws. Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

Your situation is different because it's is considered a Domestic Violence assault in which you both got into a physical altercation. Most states, including the state I work in have a mandatory arrest policy that in domestic incidents, an arrest will be made and the state becomes the victim on your behave, just as the state always become the victim for a homicide victim, because that person can't speak for him/herself. Now, I know your not a homicide victim, but states are now basing domestic violence victims in the same category because Vitim's are so traumatized at what happen to them, the state bring them charges automatically without you being asked if you want to press charges.
This all occurred because of a famous case out west with the victim being a Tracy Thurman. She was a constant victim of domestic violence and police never helped even though during one attack on her, the police were there and never did anything to help her. So state took that discretion out of the police hands and made it a mandatory arrest in domestic violence cases, thus you asking if charges need to be pressed is a non-issue in these cases.
Although long, I hope I answered your question.

Answer 2

No, the police to not have to ask you if you want to press charges, because the reason he was arrested (resisting arrest) had nothing to do with you - that was between him and the cops, which now makes the case between him and the State, and that is who is prosecuting him. The police can ask you if you want to press charges for domestic violence, but, even if you don't (you should, because then it will be much more likely that the Judge will ORDER counseling/anger management classes, which you both sorely need), the charges for resisting arrest will not be affected. He has to pay the price for that (even if you don't feel the charges were warrented, it's not up to you - when a cop says "NOW", they MEAN "NOW!").

I am curious about something. You seem all upset about the cops tackling your husband to the ground in front of your kids, but made no mention about your concern that your kids were forced to witness a violent episode between their parents. BELIEVE ME - THAT was MUCH more harmful to those kids than anything the cops did. GET COUNSELING FOR YOURSELVES AND YOUR KIDS - before they go out into the world and replicate what they have learned from Mom and Dad as being a "normal" way for adults to communicate with each other. You have now made this a family matter which goes far beyond simply "fixing your marriage". Good luck to all of you. You are going to need it.

Answer 3

No, the victim does not have to "press charges" for me to make any arrest. If I can prove the crime was committed, and the person I am arresting did it, that's good enough.

Domestic violence is a mandatory arrest. That means I am obligated, by law, to make an arrest. This is the only law like that here. I can decide to arrest in every other case, even murder, and usually go along with how the victim wants it handled, but not domestic violence.

Sounds like you are in an unhealthy relationship. You need to leave. The cycle of violence will only stop if you leave or die.

Answer 4

domestic violence is a terrible thing. and if you have kids in the house, you did the right thing by calling the cops.

but, if you didn't intend on him getting arrested, you shouldn't have called the cops. if there is any type of danger to anyone or if he did any damage that the cops can see, they don't have to press charges, it's the state versus the individual. but, if there's no phisical proof, broken lamp or furniture, or brusies or scratches on the other person, no reports of noise, then you have to press charges and go thru the whole process yourself.

If you were scared enough to call the cops, then be strong enough to go thru the process. Take the anger management classes, the marriage classes, aa if it's a factor, but keep in mind, that there's only a small chance that the relationship's gonna get any better. He had no right to scare you. He had no right to at that way in front of children, beacause all they see is that daddy's being mean and mommy is defending him by being upset with the cops cuz they were making daddy fess up to what he did wrong, and personally, i wouldn't want my kids to see that.

I know it's hard, and good luck, just don't let him hurt you or your children - ever.

Answer 5

confident he can, the way it works is whilst the police show up, they take statements (if absolutely everyone desires to furnish one) and then in addition they do their very very own checklist. all of it gets grew to become in. if the case is something substantial, like battery, homicide, attempt. homicide, stuff like that, there's a reliable possibility the D.A. will evaluation the case. right this is the substantial section... whether no statements have been given, the sufferer does not prefer to press fees, and so on, if the D.A. comments the cops comments and/or any added information secure and springs to a decision that's interior the ideal activity of "the folk" to pursue fees, then they do. it works the two techniques, if the sufferer desires to press fees, makes a checklist, yada yada yada and the record gets to the D.A.'s table and he says, no longer well worth spending the peoples money to pass after this guy, then no fees are filed. cheers

Answer 6

Absolutely not. Most state laws are written so that the charge is "People of the State of ---- vs. So-and-so". Law Enforcement represents the people of said state at the moment they make the arrest. Domestic Violence is also a sticky situation for cops and mandatroy arrest laws have taken a majority of the liabilty off of cops; the whole purpose of the law has a tremendous amount to do with the fear and inability of some spousal abuse vistims to protect themselve - i.e. "I know I said he did it last night, but I was wrong" (when in fact he called her and threatened her to drop the charges).

If it was physical and he refused to do what the cops told him, then he was wrong! But if you had no intention of keeping yourself safe and/or having him arrested then you're equally wrong for using Big Brother to get him out as you wanted...

Now I ask you this - who's more to blame for physical violence in front of your kids - The cops for trying to maintain the safety of you and your kids or you and your husband for acting that way in front of your kids? Tough questions, I realize, but you have to face the consequences of both your actions and his and ask yourself what kind of situation do you want your kids exposed to?

Answer 7

The 'point' here is they arrested him for resisting arrest. An offense the police were witness to. Since you were the only witness to the violence they can not prosecute him for that charges without you filing the complaint.
Remember the Police are not anyone friends! They have just run a scam on you with the DA assistance.

Answer 8

they might have charged him with domestic violence.Many times the state a.k.a "the police" will file the charges and the DA may not drop the charges.
Many times the abuser will return home and kill the spouse.

Answer 9

What he did to you is different from what he did to the cops. Your assault may be dropped, but not resisting arrest. And you aren't fooling anybody with "just b/c he wouldn't get off the phone". If the cops tell me to get off the phone, I get off the damn phone.

Answer 10

Hello- I had am similar incident with my husband (we are in virginia), but we werent even married at the time yet. Anyway he hit me so I called 911 and just wanted them to ask him to go back to his apartment for a little but they ended up with charging him for assult and battery which violated his probation and now he locked up for 2 more years. To make it worse when they subpeaoned me to go to court to testify against him I told them I was going to do it so they also filed charges against me.

So no you dont have to file charges- they cops do it whether or not you ask them to.

I dont know how things work in Wisconsin but for your sake I hope they arent as screwed up as here in Virginia. Good Luck!