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Texas Law: True or False
xerico
Member Posts: 125 ✭✭
Hi.
I was the witness to an assault tonight while shopping for Xmas presents.
Two young punks were slapping around a teenage pregnant woman in the parking lot of a strip mall. The moment I realized what was happening, I handed my wife the bags I was carrying and started running towards the scene. By the time I ran across the parking lot to intervene, the punks fled across the crowded parking lot to their car and left.
As soon as I got to the young lady, other "witnesses" started arriving on the scene. One gave the young woman a bottle of water and my wife had called the police.
It turns out that Punk #1 is the boyfriend of the assaulted young woman. Punk #2 is a friend of Punk #1.
By the time the police arrived on the scene, the woman was rightfully pissed off.
I gave the police my number and told them I was a witness to the assault and I would gladly offer my testimony. Other witnesses offered the same.
Then the police officer hit me with a verbal ton of bricks. He said, "It probably won't come to that. Since we didn't see the assault, we cannot arrest the two men." He later went on to explain that a detective would "review" the case. If the detective determined that the young lady's case was a good one, he would ALLOW the young lady to press charges. The young lady was agitated and claimed she wanted to press charges right there. The policeman explained that they could go the police station and file a report, but that there was no guarantee that charges would be pressed. He recommended that she wait a while before coming to such a "hasty" decision.
I was shocked!
Even with multiple eye witnesses the officer was pretty adamant that charges of assault against the two were slim since police didn't witness the event.
I know the D.A. can determine if a case is strong enough to convict, but I didn't know that a police officer's approval was required to even move forward with pressing charges.
So is it true that a Detective or Police Officer determines if charges are pressed?
Can a police officer prevent a citizen from pressing charges?
I was the witness to an assault tonight while shopping for Xmas presents.
Two young punks were slapping around a teenage pregnant woman in the parking lot of a strip mall. The moment I realized what was happening, I handed my wife the bags I was carrying and started running towards the scene. By the time I ran across the parking lot to intervene, the punks fled across the crowded parking lot to their car and left.
As soon as I got to the young lady, other "witnesses" started arriving on the scene. One gave the young woman a bottle of water and my wife had called the police.
It turns out that Punk #1 is the boyfriend of the assaulted young woman. Punk #2 is a friend of Punk #1.
By the time the police arrived on the scene, the woman was rightfully pissed off.
I gave the police my number and told them I was a witness to the assault and I would gladly offer my testimony. Other witnesses offered the same.
Then the police officer hit me with a verbal ton of bricks. He said, "It probably won't come to that. Since we didn't see the assault, we cannot arrest the two men." He later went on to explain that a detective would "review" the case. If the detective determined that the young lady's case was a good one, he would ALLOW the young lady to press charges. The young lady was agitated and claimed she wanted to press charges right there. The policeman explained that they could go the police station and file a report, but that there was no guarantee that charges would be pressed. He recommended that she wait a while before coming to such a "hasty" decision.
I was shocked!
Even with multiple eye witnesses the officer was pretty adamant that charges of assault against the two were slim since police didn't witness the event.
I know the D.A. can determine if a case is strong enough to convict, but I didn't know that a police officer's approval was required to even move forward with pressing charges.
So is it true that a Detective or Police Officer determines if charges are pressed?
Can a police officer prevent a citizen from pressing charges?
Comments
Can a police officer prevent a citizen from pressing charges?
No. Don
So how do police officers in Texas arrest bank robbers, murderers and so on if they didn't witness the crime?
Those would be felonies. Some states or cities require the officer to witness a misdemeanor in order to make an arrest.
quote:Originally posted by aglore
So how do police officers in Texas arrest bank robbers, murderers and so on if they didn't witness the crime?
Those would be felonies. Some states or cities require the officer to witness a misdemeanor in order to make an arrest.
well gee that is justice, although we all know how reliable most eye-witness accounts are
The cop could've filed a report (or did) for follow-up investigation. Through this process investigators would either develop or determine if sufficient evidence exists to prove the case. By this I mean there are multiple essential elements for each criminal law violation and each of these must be 'proven beyond a reasonable doubt'. If all of these elements either can't be met or don't exist no action is taken. If they are, the case is filed with the District/County Attorney's office and an arrest warrant is issued. Depending upon the nature of the offense this can happen either quickly or slowly.
I'm teaching my daughter that the first time ANY punk-* M-F**ker raises his hand at her, she takes the POS out. She is 12-years-old and a Red Belt in Tae Kwon Do.
I'm in Ca. While it would not be a high priority, we would be looking for scumbag 1&2 for domestic violence.So are you saying no warrant would be required to arrest either of them?
FYI - Under the circumstances given a protective order could also be issued in Texas. But we're discussing criminal charges here, not court orders.
Not much good for anything else. Certainly not "proactive" in any real sense of the word.
However, if the planet was ever invaded by sugary sweet ring-shaped aliens, I'd rightfully want 'em on my side.
For example. If the responsible is at the hospital getting treated for a wound suffered in a DV. He gives us a statement that the wife,(vic), did it. But it's ok. She didn't mean it. Off her meds. Whatever. We send a unit to the house to check the story. Find out that the victim was protecting herself. Phone torn out, you know the scene. The responsible is arrested on the spot at the hospital and a protective order is issued. Same thing if the resposible leaves and goes to a friends house after he beat up the wife. We go to the friends house and after a breif investigative interview, he will most likely get hooked.
Problem solved.
Margaret Thatcher
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
Mark Twain
quote:Originally posted by 45long
I'm in Ca. While it would not be a high priority, we would be looking for scumbag 1&2 for domestic violence.So are you saying no warrant would be required to arrest either of them?
FYI - Under the circumstances given a protective order could also be issued in Texas. But we're discussing criminal charges here, not court orders.
Here in Illinois there is no requirement an officer witness a misdemeanor or have a warrant to make the arrest, just probable cause.
In fact, it's almost the opposite in Cook County (Chicago). There an officer can not make ANY felony arrest without the approval of the State's Attorney. You have to call in to the SA on call and expalin the circumstances then request felony approval. Much more often than not it is denied and the officer has to come up with a misdemeanor charge to take a felon to jail. Tha's not state law, just Cook county's BS rule.
Cops, janitors of human strife and misery.
Not much good for anything else. Certainly not "proactive" in any real sense of the word.
However, if the planet was ever invaded by sugary sweet ring-shaped aliens, I'd rightfully want 'em on my side.
I'd say janitor is a good word for law enforcement officers - they do honest work for not much pay cleaning up the bull$#!t losers and lazy whiners throw in their laps.
BTW, for someone who calls themself "VforVendetta", why in the world would you want more "proactive" cops? Did you miss the whole anti-authoritarian theme of that overrated series or are you really that infatuated with the thought of grown men wandering around in masks?
quote:Originally posted by VforVendetta
Cops, janitors of human strife and misery.
Not much good for anything else. Certainly not "proactive" in any real sense of the word.
However, if the planet was ever invaded by sugary sweet ring-shaped aliens, I'd rightfully want 'em on my side.
I'd say janitor is a good word for law enforcement officers - they do honest work for not much pay cleaning up the bull$#!t losers and lazy whiners throw in their laps.
BTW, for someone who calls themself "VforVendetta", why in the world would you want more "proactive" cops? Did you miss the whole anti-authoritarian theme of that overrated series or are you really that infatuated with the thought of grown men wandering around in masks?
Why Dead Monkey, a kind-of-nice comment on law enforcement? What's up with that?
Margaret Thatcher
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
Mark Twain
I wasn't aware I was known for any sort of anti-law enforcement attitude. Most of the cops I've met have been cool folks... and yes, that includes the ones who have pulled me over.[;)]
And personally I think it was an entirely nice comment - I have nothing against janitors either. Law enforcement officers certainly put more on the line, but I never begrudge anyone their honest work regardless of how humble their job position may be.
Hey! Cop! you didnt see me do it so you cant arrest me....LMAO
I'm a cop here in New Mexico so maybe it's a bit different than Texas. Here we need a warrant to arrest for a misdemeanor unless: 1. We see it happen. 2. Shoplifting. 3. Battery against a household member. There's a few others but in this case I would arrest punk #1 for battery and punk #2 for accessory. I'm not interested if the girl doesn't want to press charges it's a State policy to arrest. And as for not taking a report and deciding not to pursue the case, you must be joking. I'm a cop, it's not up to me to decide which cases are worth pursuing, that's the DA's job. We actually had a cop fired recently because he didn't apply for an arrest warrant. Seemed that boyfriend and girlfriend came to blows, the officer was sent round to stop them fighting, which he did, and then ignored policy and decided not to arrest the boyfriend even though the girlfriend had cuts and bruises on her face. Couple of days later girlfriend is in the ER very badly beaten and the Officer gets asked a simple question "Why didn't you arrest the boyfriend?"
It's a thankless task being a cop, but I still want to keep the job. I follow policy, report everything, and then pass it on to the DA. CYA every time.
The police dont have to be at the scene to determine if there is cause to arrest.Do the police see bank robbers rob the bank?? Arrests are made everyday in murder cases where the police have been no where near at the time of the crime. I think the cops in this tale didnt want to go through the paperwork and hassle..
Hey! Cop! you didnt see me do it so you cant arrest me....LMAOThe way you're making it sound, when any criminal offense occurs in your state all people have to do is call the cops and tell their side of the story. Even if the cop didn't witness the offense and the suspect was no longer there when he arrived, he immediately hunts down the suspect and throws him in jail without obtaining an arrest warrant. No matter how clear the evidence is, due to our Constitution it doesn't work that way anywhere in the country.
In every state a peace officer's (or citizen's) ability to arrest without a warrant is different in the case of felony or misdemeanor offenses. For example in my state all criminal offenses witnessed by a peace officer are arrestable - provided the victim is willing to sign a complaint - but most non-witnessed misdemeanors require that the evidence be presented to a magistrate, who then makes a determination if probable cause exists to issue an arrest warrant. Then and only then can the suspect be jailed.
In my state in order for a non-peace officer to make an arrest ('citizen's arrest') it must be either a felony, a misdemeanor which constitutes a breach of the peace or done to prevent the consequences of a theft.
In the Texas scenario laid out by the original poster, since the suspect was no longer at the scene no warrantless arrest could be made as long as the suspect was no longer in proximity to pose further danger to the victim. This includes him being at their residence if she wished to go home.
As related, medical assistance would be supplied if necessary, photos of any visible injuries made, affidavits obtained from the victim and witnesses, victim's assistance information (women's shelters, etc.) supplied to the female and a report filed. This report and evidence would then go to an investigator and an arrest warrant and protective order could be obtained.
It's notable too that due to this involving 'family' violence the state could actually file an assault charge against the guy for what he did to her, even if she says she doesn't wish to press criminal charges. In this situation an arrest warrant would still still have to be obtained if the previously stated criteria aren't met.
[}:)]I think you should have shot Punk 1 and Punk 2 and replaced them with a mexican or two.
It's a complicated world, so be careful with making knee-jerk decisions.
The Police Officer at the scene was "ignorant" about Police Policy. I spoke with a Detective today regarding the incident. The young woman is pressing charges. The D.A. is moving forward with the case. The delay was exactly due to the reasons stated by the police officers in this thread. Since the Police Officer did not witness the attack, a detective has the responsibility of reviewing the case for the purpose of getting an arrest warrant. After reviewing the case, an arrest warrant was issued and the D.A. is going after the two low lifes. The Detective made it clear that they will not prevent a citizen from pressing charges. His job was to simply examine the case for the purpose of getting an arrest warrant. The D.A.'s Office will determine if the charges will be prosecutted.
To clarify the situation:
Police Officer was correct that they could not just arrest the guy. He was incorrect about the ability to press charges. He was definitely out of line suggesting that the young lady should cool off before pressing charges. Based on "listening" between the lines during my conversation with the detective, the officer at the scene had to be gently "reminded" of policy. No report was turned in last night. However, it was turned in bright and early this morning. Turns out one of the witnesses to the attack was a local City Government "Power Player". SHE didn't take kindly to a couple of scumbags roughing up a pregnant woman and made calls. Those calls probably prompted the gentle reminder.
This area is a rural county slowly becoming more urban. The officer at the scene was attempting to avoid paperwork in my opinion. He has probably become a little jaded because domestic "spats" are still not uncommon in this area. Whatever his excuse, his attitude and opinions were definitely not indicative of most of our fine officers.
In any event, it looks like justice will prevail. I hope the young woman sticks to it and makes sure that those two cowards get their just rewards.
The greatest part of this entire episode was hearing my neighbor's very prim, very proper, peace loving, non-violent, Kumbaya wife exclaim "Those M*F*ers need their * beat good!" after hearing about the assault.
No one deserves to be laid a hand on. Again, hopefully, she will follow through. Good for you all for stepping in and supporting her, she probably has had none of that in her life.
I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall at the officers "gentle reminder" *LOL* Bet he don'take that mistake again.