Q: i feel my moms boyfriend is a threat to her & our family can i get him arrested if i call the cops or is it up to her?

A: There may be a Family Law solution to your problem, but without actual physical violence, there isn’t a good solution under Criminal Law. Smoking marijuana is still illegal in Texas, but everyone knows it's just a matter of time before decriminalization so enforcement is lax, especially with regard to smoking it inside one’s residence. Damaging another person’s property without consent amounts to the offense of Criminal Mischief, but a case like that would probably require your mother to testify against her boyfriend. An imminent threat to inflict pain is one way to commit a Class C assault. It can’t be a future conditional threat like, “if you don’t stop I’ll hit you.” Cops can arrest for a class C but they usually just do nothing or issue a citation. Verbal abuse and cussing are unpleasant but not illegal.

In short, it is a bad idea to get the cops involved unless there is actual physical violence. Cops are not trained to mediate domestic disputes and they introduce dangerous chaos to the situation. The cops might arrest your mother… or they might arrest YOU and at age 17 you would be charged as an adult. Sometimes the cops seriously injure or even kill. Calling them should be a last resort.

A: If your mother's boyfriend assaults your mother, it does not matter who calls the police. If that happens, you should call the police and the police can arrest him even though you made the call.