Skip to main content

Police Report: May 8-11

Friday May 8th:

3400 block of 11 Newton Street: At about 2 pm officers responded for the report of a woman who had been assaulted by her boyfriend. The boyfriend allegedly punched the woman in the mouth and choked her. She told the officers that she did not want any police assistance and refused to tell the officers what had occurred. She was referred to the District Court Commissioner if she decided to press charges at a later time.

Saturday May 9th:

Nothing significant to report.

Sunday May 10th:

4500 block of Eastern Avenue (BP station): At about 11 am officers responded for the report of a stolen auto. The officers met with the victim/owner who told them that he left the keys to his 2002 Lincoln on the front seat when he went inside to pay for gas. When he came out of the store he saw his Lincoln being driven up Eastern Avenue towards Rhode Island Avenue by a black male (no further description). A check of the area for the stolen car proved negative and a lookout for it was given to MPD.

Monday May 11th (early morning) :

Rhode Island Avenue at 34th Street: At about 4:20 am officers investigated a motor vehicle crash. The officers witnessed a 2005 Pontiac being driven northbound on Rhode Island Avenue at a high rate of speed. When the vehicle got to the traffic circle the driver lost control and struck the curb on the Perry Street side of the circle. The vehicle left the roadway momentarily and crashed onto Perry Street. The vehicle caught fire and the officers were able to get the driver out before he sustained any injuries. He was disoriented and unaware that his car was on fire. MRFD responded to put out the vehicle fire and to check the driver for injuries. Once the driver was cleared by fire/rescue personnel he was transported to the University of Maryland Police Department where he was administered a breathalyzer test. The test results showed that he had a blood alcohol content of .17, over twice the legal limit. He was charged with driving while intoxicated and released. His vehicle, which was pretty much a total loss, was impounded.

Comments

Christine Ashley said…
3400 block of 11 Newton Street: At about 2 pm officers responded for the
report of a woman who had been assaulted by her boyfriend. The boyfriend
allegedly punched the woman in the mouth and choked her. She told the
officers that she did not want any police assistance and refused to tell
the officers what had occurred. She was referred to the District Court
Commissioner if she decided to press charges at a later time.

Is that legal? If the man was disturbig the piece and assaulting someone, why does the system need the victim to press charges?
The system needs the victim to press charges because the assault is classified as second degree. The law in Maryland states that an officer must witness a second degree assault in order to make an arrest without a judicial warrant. The victim would have to obtain an arrest warrant from a Commissioner before an officer could arrest the suspect. And, unless the assault took place in public, it would not be considered disturbing the public peace so an officer would still not be able to make a lawful arrest. The victim in this case refused to give MRPD officers any futher information beyond that she was assaulted and told us in no uncertain terms to get the hell away from her.
Amy Callner said…
Cheif, I have a follow-up question.

As I understand it, PG County department practice and Maryland law stipulates that police may make an arrest for an incident of domestic violence without witnessing the assault if they have "probable cause" to believe that assault took place.

I'm assuming that this applies when the assailant is still present. Do I have this right, or am I way off?
Amy,

The domestic violence law in Maryland states that an officer may make an arrest (without a warrant) if the officer has probable cause to believe that:

1. the person battered the person's spouse or another person with whom the person resides;
2. there is evidence of physical injury; and
3. unless the person is arrested immediately, the person may not be apprehended; may cause physical injury or property damage to another; or, may tamper with, dispose of, or destroy evidence; and a report to the police was made within 48 hours of the alleged incident. You can find the statute under Maryland Code, Title 2, Subtitle 2, Section 2-204). Here's a link so you don't have to go searching for it:

http://michie.lexisnexis.com/maryland/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp

So to answer your question, we can make an arrest without witnessing an assault when the domestic violence laws apply; and we can make an arrest in those cases if the assailant is still on the scene or has left and we can locate him/her.

Unfortunately in the present case, the victim was not the assailant's spouse and she did not reside with him (she has an address in DC) and so Maryland's domestic violance laws do not apply. We then have to fall back on the second degree assault statute, which requires that we have a warrant before we can arrest him.
Amy Callner said…
Thanks for the clarification and the link.

Popular posts from this blog

Brentwood Police Department Announces Speed Citation Amnesty Program

Due to an error we are offering to void speed camera citations that were issued between June 24th thru July 13th, 2010. Please email your citation number to chiefbrentwoodpd@juno.com with Citation Amnesty Program written in the subject line. Any speed citations issued before or after the dates listed are not included in this amnesty program . This program does not include or involve speed camera citations that were issued by the City of Mount Rainier.

Pepco Storm Quick Facts

Reporting an Outage and the Restoration Process - Emergency Phone Numbers If your power goes out, check to see if your neighbors have power. If your home is the only one without power, check your circuit breakers or fuses to determine if the outage is a result of a household problem. Do not assume we automatically know about your outage. Please contact us immediately. Report outages: 1-877-PEPCO-62 (1-877-737-2662) Report downed wires and life-threatening emergencies: 1-877-Pepco-62 (1-877-737-2662) and press two. TTY : 202-872-2369 Outage maps and restoration updates can be accessed online at www.pepco.com . Click on the Your Home tab and select the Outages the Emergency Preparedness page. Important Safety Tips If you see a downed power line, stay away from it. Assume that all downed power lines are live and extremely dangerous. Don’t touch any person or object that is in contact with a power line; the current could flow through you. Immediately call the emergency service nu...

Crime Prevention Tip: Car Alarms

I received this earlier today courtesy of CPL Jim Flynn of the Bladensburg Police Department: For those of you who have a vehicle that has a remote entry device, you may also have a handy burglar/emergency alarm that you probably don’t think about. Most of these remote entry devices have a panic button that activates your vehicle’s security alarm system. Test it. It will activate from almost anywhere inside your house and will keep honking and flashing the lights until either your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the remote entry fob. It works if your vehicle is parked in your driveway or garage. So, the next time you come home for the night and start to put your keys away think of this: Put your car keys beside your bed when you retire for the night. If you hear a noise outside your home or someone tries to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, within a few se...