A Snohomish County woman has found herself facing a domestic violence charge of reckless endangerment after leading police on a car chase with her daughter in her vehicle. On Friday, May 8, 2020, Washington State Patrol officers near Everett responded to a hit-and-run, where a driver of a BMW sai...
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The Problem: Seattle Police Chief Issues Call to Intervene in Alleged Domestic Violence
Because of the broad stay-at-home order issued by Governor Inslee, tensions and tempers have been mounting as more time is spent at home with family members. As a result, reports of domestic violence have increased dramatically. In fact, according to Seattle Chief of Police, Carmen Best, domestic...
King County Allows For Remote Protection Orders
With the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the nation, more and more jobs and services have been moved online. For the time being, whatever can be done online is being done online. In King County, this now includes the ability to file for an order of protection by e-mail or over the phone. Before, anyon...
Collateral Consequences of a Domestic Violence Charge
A domestic violence offense is not a charge which should be taken lightly. Unfortunately, the sting of such a charge does not end after a person completes their sentence—the consequences of a domestic violence conviction are widespread and can haunt a person for years. If you have been charged...
Washington State's Mandatory Arrest Law
Washington, the state that was hit first by the novel coronavirus, has issued a sweeping stay-at-home order to try to slow the advance of COVID-19. While the order has aided the population in flattening the curve, there have been some unfortunate side effects. With so many people staying at home,...
Domestic Violence Cases Increasing Across the State of Washington
When COVID-19 began spreading across the state of Washington, many people began working from home, limiting their exposure to others, and making changes to their everyday lives. Other people chose to take the “work from home” suggestion as an excuse to go on day trips around the state, causing ov...
Real-Time Monitoring of Some Washington Criminals May Be in the Future
There is a bill making its way through the Washington legislature that could allow for real-time electronic monitoring of certain criminals in the state. Washington SB 5149, The Tiffany Hill Act In November 2019, just a few days before Thanksgiving, Tiffany Hill was shot and killed by her estra...
Even a Mayor’s Husband Can Be Accused of Domestic Violence
Just because you might be married to a mayor, it does not mean you are immune to accusations of domestic violence. Cheyenne, Wyoming's mayor's husband has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge and his next court date will be January 21, 2020. Because of the level of city po...
Amber Alert Issued for Children, Father Arrested
Four siblings were found safe on Tuesday, December 10, 2019, after Washington State Patrol officers located the family traveling in an RV near Cheney, Washington. A statewide Amber Alert had been issued for the children—ages 7, 9, 13, and 16—when their parents did not turn them over to Child Prot...
Do the Holidays Lead to a Spike in Domestic Violence?
Now that the 2019 holiday season is officially upon us, many people are planning for Christmas or Hanukkah and New Year's. And despite the refrain from that popular old song, “It's the most wonderful time of the year,” it can actually be a stressful time of year for many people. Unrealistic expec...
Instagram Posts Leads to MLB Investigation
In this day and age, social media usage is widespread. It seems that almost everyone—from elementary-aged children to grandparents—uses some form of social media to interact with family and friends. Despite its latest controversies, Facebook still has 1.59 billion users, and 400 million people us...
Astros Fire Executive Over Outburst in Clubhouse
The Astros may have earned their way into the World Series, but comments made by their assistant general manager after their win over the New York Yankees earned a lot of contempt and outcries recently, which have resulted in him being fired. But the controversy started long before October 18, 20...
Raiders Player Faces Civil Domestic Violence Suit
The former partner of Oakland Raiders' lineman Trent Brown, Diorra Marzette-Sanders, has filed a civil lawsuit against him, claiming she has been subjected to a pattern of domestic abuse by Brown for two years. The lawsuit was filed in Alameda County in California and requests a jury trial and an...
Sheriff Ordered to Surrender Guns
A very messy divorce between a Benton County sheriff and his soon-to-be-ex-wife has led to a temporary restraining order and a protective order being filed, which means the sheriff had to surrender all his guns and weapons—even the ones he uses for work. Jerry Hatcher was appointed to be the she...
“Clueless” Stacey Dash Arrested in Domestic Violence Incident
She may have gotten her start as an actress in the popular 1990s movie “Clueless,” but in more recent years, Stacey Dash has been known more for her vocal conservative position. She briefly worked for Fox News as a contributor and was a harsh critic of President Barack Obama. Her Twitter bio read...
Yankees' Pitcher to Miss Rest of 2019 Season After Alleged Domestic Violence Incident
As September comes to a close, so does the regular baseball season. Several teams will be vying to make it to the post-season playoffs for the World Series, but the New York Yankees will be playing without one of their key pitchers. Domingo Germán will miss the rest of the 2019 season after domes...
DNA Samples Mistakenly Destroyed
Just recently, the City of Seattle and the Washington State Crime Lab had finally resolved a dispute that had created a huge backlog of DNA samples. In 2014, the State Crime Lab said they would only accept and test samples from municipals that had incorporated state laws into their municipal code...
When Is Elder Abuse Considered Domestic Violence?
When most people think of domestic violence, they picture an abusive man who is terrorizing his wife and/or children. According to Washington state law RCW 10.99.020, domestic violence is defined as a criminal act committed against a family or household member and includes crimes like physical vi...
Seattle’s Backlog of DNA Samples
Two Seattle city council members, Lorena González and Pete Holmes, have introduced legislation that will allow DNA samples taken in sexual assault and/or domestic violence convictions to be uploaded and shared to CODIS, which is the federal Combined DNA Index System. Both council members say that...
Extreme Risk Protective Orders Are in the News Again
A couple of weekends back we saw two mass shootings in America in less than 24 hours. The first happened in El Paso, Texas when a gunman drove from Dallas and opened up fire at a Walmart. He killed 20 and injured dozens before being apprehended by the police. The second shooting happened in Dayt...
New Laws Take Firearms Away from Accused Domestic Violence Offenders
This weekend, several new gun laws went into effect in Washington and two of them concern domestic violence situations. But first, before we look into these two new laws, remember that in Washington, state law mandates that police officers have to make an arrest if they believe there is probable ...
Same-Sex Domestic Violence
Recently two WNBA players have been in the headlines for accusations or charges of domestic violence: Natasha Howard with the Seattle Storm and Riquna Williams with the Los Angeles Sparks. While society has mostly focused on bringing awareness to heterosexual domestic violence, unfortunately, tho...
WNBA Seattle Storm Player Natasha Howard Faces Domestic Violence Accusations
On Saturday, July 13, 2019, the wife of Seattle Storm WNBA player Natasha Howard took to posting a video and screenshots of text messages on Twitter to document alleged acts of domestic violence against her. That same day, the co-owner of the Seattle Storm and general manager released a statement...
Former Superbowl MVP Arrested for Domestic Violence in Spokane, Washington
Former NFL player and Superbowl XXVI MVP Mark Rypien has been arrested in a domestic violence incident in Spokane, Washington. On Sunday, June 30, 2019, police arrested Rypien for allegedly hitting his wife Danielle in the stomach during an argument in their car. Danielle bailed Rypien out of jai...
Disarming Gun Owners Accused of Domestic Violence in Washington
Last week in Florida, an alleged victim of domestic violence spent five nights in jail after taking her estranged husband's guns to a police station for “safekeeping.” He had been ordered by a judge to not “own, possess, or carry any firearms” as part of his early release from jail. This story a...