DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES: IN CT SOMETIMES THE WRONG PERSON IS ARRESTED.
Nov 13, 2023

When household fights get heated, there is a chance that a disagreement will cross the line into domestic violence. If the police are called in response to a domestic disturbance, someone will go to jail. Connecticut’s mandatory arrest laws mean it is up to the police to determine who the dominant aggressor was based on evidence immediately available, but sometimes that can lead to the wrong person being arrested.


HOW POLICE DETERMINE THE DOMINANT AGGRESSOR IN DOMESTIC

VIOLENCE CASES IN CT


In deciding who to arrest as the dominant aggressor, police officers are required to consider several factors:


  • The need to protect the victims of domestic violence
  • Whether one person was acting in self-defense or defense of a third person (including a child)
  • The relative injuries each party received
  • Any threats of further physical injury
  • The history of family violence between the parties


There are also several exceptions within the state’s mandatory arrest laws. Police are not required to arrest someone in cases of:


  • Verbal abuse or arguments without physical assault or threatened violence
  • Roommates who are not in a romantic relationship
  • Juvenile delinquency
  • Parents disciplining their children (that does not rise to the level of child abuse)


The Dominant Aggressor law doesn’t mean that dual arrests can’t happen, though they are far less common now. The mandatory arrest requirements only apply to the person the police officer identifies as the dominant aggressor. However, the officer may choose to arrest both parties if the circumstances justify it.


IF YOU AREN’T ARRESTED, CAN YOU STILL BE CHARGED WITH FAMILY VIOLENCE?


Just because the police officer did not arrest both parties at the scene, that doesn’t mean the “non-dominant” party is automatically off the hook for family violence. Connecticut state law allows an officer to submit a report to the state attorney after the arrest is over. If the state attorney believes there are grounds to arrest the non-dominant party, they can issue a warrant and start family violence criminal proceedings even without the arrest.

By creating a Dominant Aggressor law, Connecticut lawmakers hoped to protect domestic violence victims and keep them from being arrested by the officers they turned to for protection. 

Placing the decision of who to arrest in the police officers’ hands means that sometimes the officers will get it wrong.

There are many reasons why the wrong person may be arrested and charged in a domestic violence case in Connecticut. The consequences of domestic violence can start as soon as the charges are filed. They can make life difficult for families and individuals, even when no one wanted the arrest in the first place. 

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