In a previous post, we wrote about the recent arrest of Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Erik Walden. Walden was accused of pushing his girlfriend in the midst of a domestic dispute and causing her injury. The most recent news on the story is that Walden has been charged not with domestic violence charges, but with misdemeanor disorderly conduct in connection with that incident.

Walden has apparently pleaded not guilty to those charges and is set to return to court on December 27. If Walden is convicted, he faces as much as 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

According to sources, the fight apparently began over Walden's plans to go home to Georgia for a ceremony in which Walden's uniform was being retired at his high school. She was upset that he was leaving her and their two children behind. Walden apparently told his girlfriend she didn't have a choice and an argument broke out. The couple reportedly does not have a history of domestic violence.

There is a apparently a question as to whether or not Walden was defending himself during the argument with his girlfriend, who received four stitches to her forehead as well as an injured thumb as a result of the argument. In her complaint to police, she reported that there was a fight and that Walden initiated physical contact. She says her later changing of that story was based on fears that Walden would be arrested.

Prosecutors chose to charge Walden with disorderly conduct due to the fact that it wasn't clear from police reports whether he was initiating physical contact or defending himself.

While it isn't clear what is going on in this case, it is true that police reporting has blind spots and that sometimes charges are leveled for behavior that do not warrant such charges. Incidents like these are an obvious case for obtaining solid representation if you have been charged with domestic violence

Source: Boston Herald, "Packers' Erik Walden pleads not guilty in domestic dispute case," Tyler Dunne, December 8, 2011.