Having dealt with thousands of domestic violence cases in Vancouver and Clark County, Washington, the attorneys at Green & Ritchie have heard this common refrain all too often: it's a DV call and somebody is going to jail.  While that may not be what the law actually states, you can be sure that is how it will be applied when the police respond to a report of a domestic disturbance. 

The reason for the confusion is one of police training and legal liability.  First of all, police in Vancouver and Clark County are routinely instructed that they must arrest the primary aggressor in a dispute if they determine that a domestic violence crime has been committed within four hours of responding to a call.  Sounds simple, doesn't it?  In practice, it is anything but.

Oftentimes, DV calls stem from couples who are arguing and want a neutral party (read: the police) to come in and settle a dispute for them.  The unwitting couples soon learn however that the police aren't interested in playing referee but rather in ensuring that they aren't the subject of a lawsuit down the road. This is because police in Vancouver and Clark County are trained that they can only be sued if they do not make an arrest.  Conversely, if they make an arrest, even if it's ultimately determined that they arrested the wrong party in a dispute, the police are shielded from civil liability.  Consequently, as too many couples have found out the hard way, if the police are called to respond to a report of domestic violence, somebody is going to jail.