Officer Fails to Make Arrest in Domestic Violence Dispute

At 3 a.m., Monday, January 22nd, the New York City Police Department responded to a domestic violence call in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. A couple was seen fighting and shouting on Olive and Maspeth streets. The police were notified and an ambulance was called as witnesses viewed an African-American man repeatedly striking his partner, an African-American female of medium height, after the couple exited their parked vehicle.

The woman exited the vehicle, a black SUV, and headed down Olive Street. The male pursued and overtook her just before the corner of Orient and Olive. The woman began screaming and struggling to get away as the man forcefully attempted to return her to the vehicle. The noise from the confrontation woke several nearby residents. The police were called, an ambulance was requested, and a resident informed the couple that the authorities were on their way.

The man then began pulling the woman back towards the vehicle. Upon reaching the corner of Olive and Maspeth, the woman broke free from her partner's grasp and began running down Maspeth. The male quickly overtook her, knocked her to the ground, and climbed on top of her. Witnesses claim that he then began striking the woman while pinning her to the ground. Police arrived on the scene while the man was on top of his partner, striking her.

The man climbed off of and backed away from the woman, who walked immediately to the SUV. The police officer did not exit his car or question either suspect, despite mandatory arrest laws in New York City. The officer questioned the male suspect for less than five minutes before allowing him to leave in his own car with his partner. No ambulance ever arrived on the scene, and the officer received no backup to the domestic violence call. The officer responding to the scene never exited his vehicle or questioned the witnesses, reviewed identification presented by the aggressive party, and left the scene shortly after the suspect, going the opposite direction.

New York City has had a mandatory arrest law regarding domestic violence since 1994. The Family Protection and Domestic Violence Intervention Act of 1994 established that in the case of a felony, such as assault, the responding officer is required by law to arrest the aggressive partner.

This law was created to curb the high rates of domestic violence in New York City. It has been revised and amended several times to widen the scope of the act and further crack down on this particular crime.