Police and Media Seem to Presume Domestic Violence Suspect’s Guilt

A domestic violence situation unfolded in Florida and ended with a neighbor and the alleged abuser in a gunfight that killed the suspect. The police are calling the neighbor a “hero,” but there are still a lot of details that are unclear.

Neighbor Intervenes in Apparent Domestic Violence Situation

According to the initial reports, the situation happened in Trinity, Florida, on Wednesday, August 21. A man was outside mowing his lawn when he heard what he thought was an altercation in his neighbor’s house – the county sheriff said that someone inside “was screaming for help.”

The neighbor saw several young children being shepherded out a second-story window. After he helped the children down, the domestic violence suspect approached. The neighbor tried calming him down, but the suspect apparently pulled out a gun and started firing. The neighbor returned fire and killed the suspect.

When police investigated, they found the inside of the house bloody and in disarray.

The children and the apparent victim are fine.

Unquestioned Holes in the Story Show Bias Against Suspected Abusers

The story sounds like a feel-good article about how Good Samaritans are out there and can help people in need. However, it unwittingly reveals how people jump to conclusions when it comes to domestic violence incidents. In this particular article, there are not one but several inconsistencies that make one question what really happened.

For example, according to the news story, the neighbor was mowing his lawn and intervened when he heard the alleged victim screaming for help from inside her home. But when you mow your lawn, you can barely hear someone yelling at you from five feet away, let alone from inside your neighbor’s house.

The article, though, never questions this detail.

The article also fails to question how the neighbor got several children down from the second story of the house. It must have taken some time to stop mowing the lawn, grab a ladder, and get several children – described as “elementary school age” – down from the roof. That time is unaccounted for in the story.

Also unaccounted for is much of the interaction between the Good Samaritan neighbor and the alleged abuser. According to the article, the situation unfolded like this:

1. They argued
2. The Good Samaritan returned to his property
3. The abuser pulled out a gun and started shooting
4. The Good Samaritan returned fire, hitting and killing the man

But where did the Good Samaritan’s gun come from? If the Good Samaritan didn’t have the gun on him at the beginning, when did he have time to get it? If he did have it on him during the altercation, could that have triggered the gunfight?

Police claim that the Good Samaritan acted in self-defense when he killed the suspected abuser. But if the only facts of the situation are those reported in the news article, it’s difficult to see how they could have jumped to such a strong conclusion.

Domestic Violence Defense in Maine at Maine Criminal Defense Group

If you have been accused of domestic violence in Maine, you need legal representation to overcome these biases. The criminal defense attorneys at Maine Criminal Defense Group can help. Call their Portland law office at (207) 571-8146 or contact them online if you have been charged with domestic violence in Saco, Biddeford, or the rest of southern Maine.