Police officers responding to domestic violence calls face very challenging situations. Frequently, outside parties report the matter rather than one of the people involved. The officers then have to try to make sense of a complicated interpersonal dynamic and a very chaotic situation.
They may make a judgment call and choose to arrest one of the people involved in the incident. Occasionally, officers might make the wrong decision and arrest someone who didn’t actually instigate domestic violence but has instead been a victim of domestic violence. Officers sometimes interpret reactive abuse as criminal domestic violence. The person who seemed the most volatile may not have instigated the situation.
Ongoing abuse can cause erratic behavior
The psychological consequences of regular domestic violence can include mood destabilization. People who regularly fear for their safety or experience routine emotional abuse combined with occasional physical aggression may act in ways that seem irrational and dangerous to others.
However, their conduct is a response to the harm of the domestic violence they have already experienced. Professionals refer to these outbursts as reactive abuse. Police officers may arrive and hear one person berating the other or throwing things.
They may see minor injuries on one person and assume that the other party must be the perpetrator. They may have instead chosen to arrest the person who regularly experienced domestic violence and lashed out because of that history.
There are many potential defense strategies that those accused of domestic violence can employ in criminal court. Raising questions about the dynamic between the parties and exploring the possibility of reactive abuse could help raise questions about whether criminal domestic violence actually occurred.