Newport Beach, CA asked in Domestic Violence for California

Q: A domestic dispute occurs both were injured but neither wanted to press charges yet the female got arrested

In California, a domestic dispute occurs between a boyfriend and girlfriend living together and the cops are called by a neighbor. Both the female and male had injuries (female had red marks on butt and bruise on arm and male had scratch marks all over) both did not want to press charges however the female only was arrested. I believe the cops came to the wrong conclusion that the female was the aggressor and did not thoroughly check her for bumps or/and abrasions on her head even though she told them he had hit her on the head. Later, while in jail, she was taken to the hospital for head pain and swelling and the doctor determined she had abrasions on her head and a concussion. She had no priors and no previous phone calls had been made to the police for domestic disputes. Should she have been arrested? Was that police negligence or misconduct?

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: Unlikely the police will face misconduct or negligence charges since this occurs all of the time and there are some government immunity protections they have (but not all). The police generally arrest somebody when they come out to a scene and see alleged domestic violence. Neighbors call the cops all of the time. The police and prosecutors can move forward even when both people don't want prosecution, but that's where the defense comes in to challenge the case.

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