When an argument spirals out of control, it can happen very quickly and people can react in surprising ways. If and when this involves physical contact, it may not be long until the police show up to break up the situation.
In many of these altercations, the scene is chaotic and emotions are running high, so police officers tend to arrest the person who they feel is the aggressor in order to alleviate some of the tension. In general, this person is a male. Police have arrested men based on nothing more than statements made by the other person involved in a fight or people who claim to have heard or seen what happened. It can be a matter of he-said, she-said.
However, in the recent arrest of NFL running back Ray Rice, authorities had the benefit of security camera footage that recorded a fight between Rice and his fiancée.
The couple got into an argument late one evening at a casino in Atlantic City. According to reports, a camera recorded Rice and his fiancée fighting and hitting each other in what was described as a very minor altercation. Neither of them was injured but they were both charged with simple assault-domestic violence.
In similar altercations, a person of Rice’s stature and high-profile reputation could be aggressively targeted and automatically accused of violent behaviors. And if there are false accusations to back that perception up, that person could be facing serious criminal charges. What may have been a minor altercation, in reality, could quickly turn in to the possibility of jail time and a criminal record.
Even though an arrest does not mean a person is guilty of domestic assault in New York, it can certainly feel like that when he or she is being brought into the police station in handcuffs. But rather than fighting with police officers or trying to resist an arrest, a person in this position will want to try and stay calm and refrain from making any statements until he or she can speak to an attorney and explain his or her side of the story.