When police respond to a domestic disturbance call in California, they’re not just checking in to calm things down. Their job is to determine whether a crime occurred.
If they see any signs of domestic violence, state law expects them to make an arrest.
That means even if the argument has cooled off or the alleged victim doesn’t want to press charges, officers can still arrest someone at the scene. Once police get involved, the situation is no longer considered a private dispute between partners or family members. It becomes a criminal case handled by the state.
For many people, that shift can be confusing and overwhelming. A moment of conflict can quickly turn into serious legal consequences, including mandatory court appearances, restraining orders, and possible jail time.
- What are police allowed to do if someone calls them?
- How LAPD investigates at the scene
- Emergency protective orders happen fast
- What happens after arrest
- How are domestic violence cases prosecuted in California?
- The mandatory 52-week batterer’s program
- Protective orders create lasting consequences
- Your constitutional rights during police response
- What alleged victims need to understand
- Why it’s important to work with a defense lawyer as soon as possible
What are police allowed to do if someone calls them?
When officers show up at your door, they’re operating under California Penal Code § 836(d), which gives them unusual authority compared to most other situations. Normally, police need to witness a misdemeanor themselves to make an arrest, but domestic violence is different. Officers can arrest for misdemeanor domestic battery even if they didn’t see it happen, as long as they have probable cause that one person assaulted or battered their spouse, live-in partner, dating partner, or the other parent of their child.
The law defines these relationships broadly. You don’t need to be married or even living together full-time. If you’re dating seriously or share a child, the special domestic violence rules apply.
For more serious cases involving visible injuries, police need only believe a felony occurred to make the arrest. They also must arrest when they have probable cause that someone violated a protective order.
This means even if both people say “we’re fine now” or “we don’t want anyone arrested,” officers still have the legal authority to take someone into custody, and they are often mandated to do it by departmental policy.
How LAPD investigates at the scene
Los Angeles Police Department officers follow specific procedures when they arrive. They’ll immediately separate you and your partner so they can interview each person privately. This isn’t optional; it’s standard protocol designed to get independent accounts before people coordinate their stories.
During these interviews, officers are building a case. They photograph any injuries, no matter how minor. They document property damage like broken doors, holes in walls, or shattered phones.
They’ll preserve the 911 recording if someone called. If they’re wearing body cameras, that footage captures everything said and seen. They’ll also talk to neighbors, children, or anyone else who might have witnessed what happened.
One crucial decision officers must make is identifying the “dominant aggressor” — the person who poses the real threat rather than just whoever threw the first punch.
California law discourages arresting both people. Instead, officers evaluate the situation by looking at the history between you (Have there been prior incidents? Does one person have past arrests?), comparing injuries (Are they defensive scratches or offensive strikes?), observing fear levels (Who seems genuinely afraid?), and determining if anyone acted in reasonable self-defense.
Emergency protective orders happen fast
If officers believe there’s immediate danger, they can call an on-call judge right from your home. These judges issue Emergency Protective Orders (EPOs) over the phone. The moment officers serve the EPO to the restrained person, it takes full legal effect.
EPOs last seven calendar days, giving the alleged victim time to go to court and seek a longer-term restraining order if they choose. During those seven days, the EPO typically orders the restrained person to move out immediately (even if it’s their home), prohibits all contact including texts, calls, emails, and social media, and requires them to surrender any firearms within 24 hours.
Violating an EPO is a separate crime under PC 273.6, punishable by up to a year in jail.
Officers issue these protective orders based on safety concerns, not on whether the alleged victim wants one. In fact, the alleged victim often has no say in whether an EPO gets issued.
What happens after arrest
If officers arrest someone, they transport them to the police station for booking. This includes fingerprinting, photographing, running background checks, and entering information into statewide databases. The person stays in custody until they post bail or see a judge, whichever comes first.
Bail amounts for domestic violence cases are higher than many other offenses. Misdemeanor domestic battery typically requires $10,000 to $20,000 bail in Los Angeles County. Felony corporal injury cases often set bail at $50,000.
Within 48 hours, the arrested person must appear before a judge for arraignment. This is the first court appearance where charges are formally presented. At this hearing, the court issues a Criminal Protective Order (CPO).
This order prohibits the defendant from contacting the alleged victim throughout the entire criminal case. Unlike civil restraining orders that victims request and control, CPOs are automatic and mandatory in Los Angeles County domestic violence prosecutions.
The CPO stays in effect through the entire case and typically extends three years after conviction. For felony convictions under PC 273.5, courts can impose CPOs lasting up to ten years.
The alleged victim cannot cancel or modify a CPO. Only the judge can, and only the prosecutor can request changes. This means even if both people want to resume contact, it’s illegal until the court says otherwise.
How are domestic violence cases prosecuted in California?
California prosecutes domestic violence under two main statutes.
The first is PC 243(e)(1), misdemeanor domestic battery. This charge requires only harmful or offensive touching — no visible injury necessary. A push, a slap, grabbing someone’s arm forcefully, or even aggressive poking can support this charge.
The second is PC 273.5, corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant. This applies when touching causes a “traumatic condition,” meaning any wound or injury, whether internal or external, caused by physical force.
A bruise, cut, bloody nose, or even significant pain qualifies. Prosecutors can charge PC 273.5 as either a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the severity of injury and the defendant’s criminal history.
Misdemeanor domestic battery under PC 243(e)(1) carries up to one year in county jail, up to $2,000 in fines, and typically three years of probation. Misdemeanor corporal injury under PC 273.5 has the same jail time but allows fines up to $6,000. Felony corporal injury under PC 273.5 means two to four years in state prison.
Prior domestic violence convictions dramatically increase penalties. If you have one prior conviction within the past seven years, you face mandatory minimum 15 days in jail. Multiple priors require at least 60 days in custody. These mandatory minimums mean judges cannot sentence you to straight probation even if they want to.
The mandatory 52-week batterer’s program
Every domestic violence conviction in California, whether misdemeanor or felony, requires completion of a 52-week batterer’s intervention program under PC 1203.097. Courts cannot waive this requirement. The law specifically prohibits judges from substituting anger management classes or counseling.
These programs require you to attend weekly group sessions, typically two hours each week, for one full year without interruption. You must pay the program fees, which vary but often run $50-75 per session. The program reports your attendance and progress to the court and your probation officer. If you miss sessions or fail to participate appropriately, the program notifies the court, triggering probation violation proceedings.
Probation violations can result in the court issuing a bench warrant for your arrest, revoking probation, and imposing the original jail or prison sentence that was suspended when you were placed on probation. This means even if you received no jail time initially, failing the batterer’s program can land you in custody for months or years.
Protective orders create lasting consequences
Both Criminal Protective Orders and civil Domestic Violence Restraining Orders trigger serious collateral consequences beyond the criminal penalties. Most significantly, any protective order issued against you requires immediate surrender of all firearms and ammunition. California law gives you 24-48 hours to transfer guns to law enforcement or a licensed dealer. Failure to surrender firearms is a separate criminal offense.
Misdemeanor domestic violence convictions prohibit firearm ownership for ten years. Felony convictions create lifetime bans. These restrictions apply under both California and federal law, meaning they follow you everywhere in the United States.
If you have children with the alleged victim, protective orders and domestic violence convictions create a legal presumption against awarding you custody. For five years after a restraining order expires, family courts presume that giving you custody would not serve the children’s best interests. You bear the burden of proving otherwise by showing you completed batterer’s programs, maintained non-violence, participated in therapy, and can demonstrate that custody serves your children’s welfare.
For non-citizens, domestic violence convictions constitute deportable offenses under federal immigration law. This applies to green card holders, visa holders, and undocumented immigrants alike. A conviction can trigger removal proceedings, bar you from returning to the United States, prevent naturalization, and make you inadmissible for future immigration benefits. The immigration consequences often exceed the criminal penalties in severity.
Your constitutional rights during police response
You have important constitutional protections when police arrive, but you must assert them clearly. The Fifth Amendment gives you the right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning.
To invoke your rights effectively, you must speak clearly: “I want to remain silent” and “I want to speak to an attorney.” Then actually stay silent. Don’t try to explain, don’t answer “just this one question,” and don’t let officers convince you that talking will help your situation. Once you invoke these rights, officers must stop questioning you.
The Fourth Amendment protects your home from warrantless entry. Police cannot come inside without your consent, a warrant, or “exigent circumstances,” which are emergency situations requiring immediate action. Exigent circumstances in domestic violence cases include officers observing ongoing violence, hearing screams or sounds of struggle, seeing fresh injuries on someone who answers the door, or having reasonable belief someone inside needs immediate medical aid.
If officers ask to come inside, clearly state: “I do not consent to entry” and “I do not consent to searches.”
Don’t physically block them or resist, but make your objection known. This can feel uncomfortable to do, but it’s important. This creates grounds for your attorney to challenge any evidence obtained or observations made inside your home.
What alleged victims need to understand
It’s important to understand that you are a witness for the state, not a party controlling the prosecution. You cannot “drop charges.” That decision belongs entirely to the prosecutor. Many people believe that if they don’t want to press charges, the case will go away. This is false.
Los Angeles County prosecutors follow a “no-drop” policy in domestic violence cases. Once arrested, the case proceeds whether you cooperate or not. Prosecutors use “evidence-based prosecution,” building cases from physical evidence, 911 recordings, officer observations, medical records, text messages, emails, and witness statements.
If you tell police one story and later try to recant, you risk being charged with filing a false police report under PC 148.5, which is itself a misdemeanor. Prosecutors can also subpoena you to testify under oath. If you refuse, the judge can hold you in contempt and jail you until you agree to testify. If you testify differently than your original statement, prosecutors may charge you with perjury.
The system is designed this way because prosecutors recognize that domestic violence victims face enormous pressure to recant. By removing your control over prosecution, the law attempts to protect you from coercion. However, this means once you call police, you’ve started a process you cannot stop.
Why it’s important to work with a defense lawyer as soon as possible
Whether you’re the person arrested or the alleged victim, having an attorney from the start changes everything.
Once charges file, attorneys can challenge unlawful arrests, contest warrantless home entries, move to suppress statements taken in violation of Miranda, and file motions to reduce or dismiss charges based on insufficient evidence. They also negotiate with prosecutors to reduce felonies to misdemeanors, dismiss cases in exchange for completing counseling, or secure diversionary programs that result in no conviction.
Helfend Law Group understands California’s complex domestic violence laws and Los Angeles County’s specific prosecution policies. We protect constitutional rights, build defenses from day one, and fight for the best possible outcome whether that’s dismissal, reduction, or acquittal at trial. Contact us immediately when police respond — the sooner we’re involved, the more options you have.
Published October 16, 2025.