Many times Texas domestic violence reports are he-said, she-said scenarios, meaning that the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Police who are called to the scene will make their own judgment as to the truth of the situation, sometimes even imposing another layer of complications for anyone who is accused of domestic violence.
When this is the case, one or both parties may be taken into custody or placed under arrest, even if all of the facts have not been heard. As a result, many people end up spending the night in prison and require the assistance of a criminal defense attorney, even if the only evidence is one spouse’s version of the situation.
Manny Ramirez, the well-known baseball player, was involved in this type of situation. His wife called the police last September claiming that her husband slapped her. She also said that this slap caused her to fall and hit her head on the couple’s bed. Police believed her story and arrested Ramirez, charging him with domestic violence.
However, since she made that original phone call, something has changed, because the state was unable to serve her with a subpoena in order to receive a statement from her. As a result, the state has dropped the domestic violence charges against Ramirez.
This story is one example of how someone was charged with domestic violence based on the accusations of one spouse at the time of the incident. Aside from the negative publicity, Ramirez had to prepare to defend against these criminal charges of domestic violence, or risk the serious consequences.
Source: The Sacramento Bee, “Charges dropped against Ramirez,” March 31, 2012