Β #DomesticViolence #ChildCustody #Assault #LegalAdvice
Hey everyone! π Has anyone dealt with a situation where a family member was assaulted during a child custody exchange and the responding officer refused to take action? My SIL was attacked and the police said they wouldn’t file charges because the other party is pregnant. π³ Here’s the deal:
– SIL has evidence of previous threats and violent behavior from the other party
– They’re already pursuing full custody of their nephew
– Is there anything else they can do to escalate the situation or seek justice?
Any advice or similar experiences you can share? Let’s brainstorm and help each other out in this tough situation! π§π #LegalAdviceNeeded #SeekingJustice
She can escalate. The officers on the street arenβt the final deciders of that sort of thing.
Have them go to the police station in person to file a report. Make sure pictures have been taken by your SIL and BIL of the attack. Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable than I can offer more tips.
1. Restraining order. Your SIL needs one now.
2. Your SIL should not be present for custody transfers. Itβs unnecessary for her to be there.
3. Your SIL should go to the police and file a report if the responding police did not make one. And if they did make one, SIl needs to obtain a copy of it, ensure itβs correct and your BIL needs to use that to go for full custody.
4. Also your SIL can sue for money damages. Itβs lot much but it will send a message.
It sounds like a bad situation and Iβm not defending the mother at all, itβs clearly a terrible and outrageous situation. That said, if itβs so volatile and the mother is disturbed by the presence of the current wife, why does the current wife insist on going to the exchanges? Also, if the police refused involvement, it seems like thereβs more to the story. Your best bet is to just stay out of it as likely thereβs some instigating going on and you donβt need to be in the middle of it. There is no βdo weβ¦β, itβs none of your business (since youβre not one of the parents) and youβre not getting the full story.
Did this assault take place in front of the child?
If so, make a report to CPS.
Assuming a report was taken by responding officers? If so the victim/victims can appear before a magistrate and request a warrant or summons. If a report was not taken then one needs to filed. As for not arresting a pregnant offender some jurisdictions have policies that the offense has to be at a certain level before that can be done. This is due to the cost of medical care while in custody.
They should try to file in person while recording the whole interaction. If they still refuse to file charges then they should get a consultation with a lawyer.
Contact the Tennessee AGβs office.
Consult a local family law lawyer. They will let you know what the local county family court might do or what options are available. Some options might include changing exchange location for a police station or non contact (mom drops kid at daycare and dad pickups so parents donβt have contact). You could also request mom complete dv classes, anger management or a mental health exam. A supervisor for visits would be another option. I would seriously worry about her judgment if she is willing to attack a person while pregnant much less in front of her child. A restraining order might be a good idea. I would suggest a dashcam in the meantime. Someone holding a phone videoing exchanges might aggravate a judge and make things more contentious and upset the child.
There are at least four offended parties here, in the sense of taking legal action:
1. SIL – Can pursue a civil tort claim for assault seeking money damages and can seek a family violence protective order.
2. Dad – Can seek a temporary restraining order asking the court to keep anger mom away from the child until she’s undergone some BIP classes or other anger management (it won’t help her, but it would keep her away for a while). Dad can at least get this in front of the judge in the on-going custody battle.
3. Child – Via Dad, can seek a family violence protective order, depending on how your state’s FV PO Statue works and, also thru dad, can report to CPS, altho I always hesitate to bring CPS into a client’s life.
4. State – The assault was also a crime and should be reported at the police station. Up to PD to decide whether to refer it to the DA and up to the DA to decide to persecute and may be up to a grand jury to decide to let it go to trial. Lots of dependencies there, which is why the civil action in #1 might be attractive .
Finally, they may need to start exchanging possession of the child at a police station. Can be weird for the child, but so can random slap attacks during exchanges.