What's going on? >> She's like a whole 12-pack. Still poed at me. >> You got any weapons on you? >> No. No. >> Uh, yeah. She's POED at me because I cheated on her two months back and I thought we were trying to work on it, but she decided to drink a whole case of beer and started hitting me, going, you know, ludicrous on me. She tripped, hit her head, and now she's calling the cops saying, "I did that when I was just trying to save myself." >> Federal Way, Washington. Two people, one apartment, both have injuries, both have a story, and only one of them is going home tonight because she got me a good one right there. >> What worked up to things being physical? >> She just got drunk and started going violent on me and started yelling. I said, "Can you please go to bed?" She didn't care to. She just wanted to come and attack me while I was laying in bed watching a movie. and she jumped on the bed and started like coming up hitting me in the head. And I got up and moved out of the way. Next thing you know, she fell and I was like, "Stop. Just go to bed." And all she did was just go up and start coming at me some more. So I was like, "All right, I'm going outside." So I go outside. She locked the door for the patio. So I was like, "All right, I'll just stay out here, have a cigarette." Next, >> you're locked out right now. >> No, no, no, >> no. Okay. >> She she just kind of when I told her, "Which one do you want to be in?" I said, "I'll go on the room. You go on the patio." And next thing you know, she started coming right into the room at me again. So, I was like, "All right, I'm going back out. I'm going right out here waiting for you guys." >> Why? >> Because the past trauma from me cheating on her >> and she just brought it up out of the blue or >> she she keeps bringing it up and I was like because she drank a whole 12-pack and I told her not a good idea and just started going on like yelling, screaming. I was like, "We got neighbors. We cannot be doing this. It's late at night. >> Is she drunk right now?" >> Yeah. >> So, when she came at you, what did that look like? He just kind of jumped on me and just started going all like and I was just like what the hell? >> Where were you at? >> Just in my room sleeping trying to like watch a movie and relax. >> You were in bed? >> Yeah. No, she was out on the porch smoking cigarettes and drinking beer and talking on the phone and then all of a sudden out of the blue she comes running in and started coming at me. So I was like >> did she say anything before she did that? >> She said you're a cheater. You're a lover. Blah blah blah. And I was like calm down. It's late at night. >> And then what'd she do? She just started coming up and slapping me and hitting me. So, I back away and try to move out of the way. And next, you know it, she falls, hits her head. She got a little knot right there. And then she goes, "This is what you did." And I go, "No, I said just leave me alone." >> When she first Did she grab you at first? She slap you at first. She >> grabbed me and then just slap. She didn't punch. She gave me a bit slap a couple times. >> And then what did you do? >> And I just got up and just tried to get out of the way and just went out into the porch, have a cigarette. >> Okay. Of course she me. >> What caused her to fall down? >> She tripped over something. I don't know. She came rushing at me and then she went like this >> in your bedroom. >> Yeah. >> What? Where is that injury at on her? >> It's right here. She I think it's on one of these sides, but she came up and just kind of rushed at me but tripped while she was trying to come at me. >> And that's when she hit the side of the wall right there. >> Okay. >> And she goes, "You pushed me." And I go, "No, I'm just trying to back away from being attacked." >> Okay. >> Cuz I'm I know what to do. Not to >> Did you hit her at all? in self-defense or >> I just came up and like do this. I try to push her out of my way. Push. So I'm not getting real quick. >> Uh seems like you have a scratch right there by your nipple. >> Oh yeah. >> Yeah. I was just I didn't I didn't want any of this. I was just trying to relax and watch my horror movie and >> Well, I'm going to I'm going to go talk with her, my partner and I. Okay. On October 19th, louning arawu officers in Federal Way, Washington responded to a domestic disturbance involving two cohabitating intimate partners, both injured, both claiming victimhood, both pointing at each other. What makes this case legally significant is not the violence itself. It is the decision that follows. Under Washington law, officers cannot simply walk away. They must arrest and they must choose who. Washington Revised Code section 1099. 030 mandates that when an officer develops probable cause that a domestic violence offense occurred within the preceding 4 hours. Arrest is not discretionary. It is required. The statute also prohibits dual arrests. Officers must identify one primary aggressor. The framework for that determination is codified under Washington Revised Code section 1099 040. Officers must weigh five statutory factors. Comparative severity of injuries, history of domestic violence between the parties, statements of both parties and witnesses, which party initiated the physical contact, and whether either party acted in self-defense. This is not a subjective gut check. It is a structured legal analysis conducted under time pressure with two contradictory accounts. The threshold is probable cause, not proof beyond reasonable doubt, simply a reasonable belief grounded in articulable facts that this person committed this offense. Under the totality of circumstances test, no single factor is dispositive. Officers must evaluate the full picture. The officer observed fresh scratches on the male subject's arm and chest. The female subject disputed the origin of that mark, claiming it predated the incident. This is a material evidentiary argument. However, the probable cause standard does not require the officer to disprove competing explanations. It requires only that the officer's belief be objectively reasonable given what was known at that moment. A pre-existing injury claim is a trial defense, not a field determination that defeats probable cause. Under Graham versus Connor, decided in 1989, every officer decision must be judged against the standard of a reasonable officer on the scene. Not with 2020 hindsight. An officer identifying visible fresh injury on one party, combined with a more internally coherent narrative satisfies the constitutional threshold for a warrantless probable cause arrest under Washington's mandatory domestic violence statute. >> Hello, sir. >> Hi. Are you Sierra? >> Yes, sir. >> Hey, can I chat with you real quick? >> Yes, sir. >> What's going on? >> Uh Damian is being physically violent. >> I'm not here with you. So, okay. I just want to know what's going on. Okay. >> Is being physically violent. Okay. So, what does that mean? Like, how did this start? >> We've had a lot of stuff going on over the last few months, a lot of distrust, a lot of dishonesty, cheating. It's escalated. You guys have a lot of It ended up with us. And I got thrown against the wall and I said, "I'm done." >> So, where did this argument start >> this morning? We started off Well, >> I just mean from like the reason why we're here, right? The reason why we're here is because I got thrown up against a corner of a wall. I'd have a half an Easter egg on my head. >> I'd already been thrown in a domestic violence where I'm not going to tolerate it. >> Well, paint a picture for me on what that looked like. When did the arguing turn into >> physical? Our bed getting stripped. >> Your bed sheets. He was ripping the sheets off the bed. >> Okay. >> He tried to put them back together before you all got here and I said, "No." Were you in bed or >> We were both in our room. >> You were both in the room >> and then I got up out of bed, escalated. I end up there's a corner in our room. >> I got knocked up against the wall. >> What does what does it mean when you say escalated? Like what happened next? >> Our It got violent. He said, "I'm not going to take this from me." >> So who who? >> And he threw me against the wall. I mean, that's as quick as it went. >> Where were you when that happened? >> I saw our bed faces this way. >> Mhm. head towards the back that way. And I hit the corner and I said, "I'm done." I said, "You he approached you?" >> Yes. He came around the bed, got in my face, threw me. >> So you went up to him, >> he got up. You were blocking him. >> He came around to me. >> Okay. >> He came We can go into the bedroom. I can show. >> Sure. Yeah, that's that worked. >> Yeah. Paint a picture for me. >> I'll show you exactly how I hit the wall. And this happened. That's when I was like, you know what? I'm done. >> Okay. I'm not going to go through this more. >> You have any weapons in the house? >> Any weapons in the house? >> No. >> This is where he pushed me. I hit this corner of the wall. >> Were you blocking the doorway or something? Or was it >> No. No. We just s because I came from here. >> What about the marks that he has on his arm? >> I don't know where this mark on his arm came for. He's been fussing with this mark on his arm since yesterday. And that's where he's like, "I'm going to get you." I said, "I don't I didn't do anything to you." He's saying that you walked over to him. No >> to confront him and grabbed his arm and that's where that mark came from. >> I only came on this side of the bed. I've never gone. >> And he was on that side of the bed. >> He was on that side of the room, sir. >> So he did he get up and approach you? >> On this side of the room. I was on this side of the room. >> Now when he pushed you, did he push you out of the way to leave? >> Did he push me back? He did not push me out of the way to leave. >> So he pushed you because he wanted >> me aggressively 100%. >> What happened once he did that? Um, I pushed back again. >> Did he walk away? >> He did. He actually got his car keys. He went outside. He had half a cigarette and they got his car keys. I called my friend Gary who was at the end of the >> Did he come back at all? >> Did he come back in here at all? >> No, he didn't. He grabbed his car keys and he left out of here. >> So, I told him, I said, "I'm calling the cops." I said, "I'm not going to tolerate this." Other than that in trouble too many times. >> I understand. So, other than his push, he didn't hit you, slap you, push you any other way. Just Just the one. >> Cuz he's hit me. I'm I don't know. >> Okay. So, he pushed you the one time and you hit your head. >> We're not going to see bruises. I mean, they happen later. Like I said, this one on his arm. I have no idea where that's from. >> Well, did you see that prior to this? >> Oh, yes. He's been fussing and fussing about that all day. >> Emil, you know, like stay away from him. >> One unresolved issue deserves attention. The male subject admitted he attempted to push the female subject away during the altercation. Washington Revised Code section 9A 36 041 defines assault in the fourth degree as intentionally touching another person against their will regardless of the actor's claim justification. Self-defense is an affirmative defense raised at trial. It does not negate probable cause at the arrest stage. The female subject's arrest carries significant downstream consequences under Washington's domestic violence chapter. Beyond the gross misdemeanor classification, conviction triggers mandatory no contact orders, required batter treatment evaluations, and elevated penalties upon any subsequent offense. These collateral consequences underscore why the primary aggressor designation is not administrative. It is a lifealtering legal event. >> Are you willing to take a recorded statement in everything you say on oath that you're being truthful? >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. Absolutely, >> Damian. Okay, help me understand cuz your guys' stories aren't quite lining up exactly that, but it happens all the time, right? >> Yeah. >> But she's saying that the physical altercation started somewhere else. >> Uh, no. We were laying down and I was watching the movie and she was still getting on me like she >> Okay, so pause right there. You told me earlier that she came into the room. You guys both weren't laying down together. I asked that. You just said we were laying down. >> No, I was laying down. She was out on the floor talking on the phone with her little brother or something like that while she was drinking her beer and then came out from there. Came into the room, laid down next to me. >> Okay. >> And then that's when she started getting on me about cheating with a black girl called and stuff and then came up and jumped on me, grabbed me and then >> she jumped on like you were on the bed and she jumped on you >> and then she was like, "Fuck." And then I was like, "Get off me." And I pushed her off and I got on like this and that's when she kind of looked back at me and hit me right here. And then that's when she came started rushing at me again. >> Let me see the your face again. >> So good at dodging. >> So you're saying that she walked around to your bed? >> Yeah. >> Did she stay there? Did you go somewhere? >> I went out to the back porch. >> Okay. >> And I just stayed out there and that's when she goes she locks it and says stay away from me. I was like I am. >> Okay. And what's her name again? Sierra dance. >> Sierra. Okay. >> All right. Sierra, where you at? >> We're going to put you in custody. Okay. >> Please. Why? >> Well, I've heard both of your guys' stories. Okay. And it's my job to determine at this point who the primary aggressor is. Okay. >> And you got it. >> Yep. >> You're going to be going to jail tonight. Okay. >> Why? >> Because I heard what you had to say and I heard what he had to say. And there's some inconsistencies with both, but I think that you're the primary aggressor. There are fresh injuries on him. Okay. And I understand that um you >> has a mark on his arm. >> So you're you're welcome to take a recorded statement if you'd like um to tell your side of the story under penalty perjury if you'd like. Okay. >> Should it make it better? >> Do we need to come check his little arm cruise? Who knows if he got from work? >> We'll ask him to. >> I mean like let's really think about this. >> Nope. Keep going. My friend is down here waiting. Could who contest to this? This is >> [ __ ] Okay. >> This is absurd. >> Do you want your friend? >> No. He's probably just going to shut up. Trust me. >> Would you like us to take it for you? You can take it with you. Come on. >> Responding officer B+. Party separation was textbook. The individual interviews were active, not passive. of the officer identified and directly confronted a narrative inconsistency demonstrating evidence collection rather than mere statement taking. The offer of recorded sworn statements to both parties reflects sound prosecutorial support practice. The deduction, the on camera articulation of the RCW 1099 040 multiffactor analysis was incomplete. The officer cited fresh injuries and inconsistencies but did not walk through each statutory factor on record. A supplemental report filling that gap is essential. Abstent. A probable cause challenge at arraignment faces a thinner documented foundation than this arrest deserves. Sierra Dan C. Her account was emotionally scattered, which reduced its evidentiary weight against a more linear competing narrative. Her most consequential failure was her inability to effectively deploy the pre-existing injury argument. a claim that if substantiated could have materially altered the probable cause calculus. She possessed the argument. She did not build it. Damian B. His decision to exit the residence before officers arrived was tactically sound. It allowed calm initial contact and preserved favorable first impressions. His narrative once a minor imprecision was clarified remained internally consistent. The deduction, his admission of physical contact, however defensively framed, establishes bilateral force and introduces legal complexity that may resurface at prosecution. Three takeaways. First, visible physical injury is the most durable evidentiary anchor at a domestic scene. Document it explicitly and on camera, not just in a supplement. Second, narrative consistency is evidence. Officers who probe inconsistencies and document their findings protect the arrest at every subsequent stage. Third, a pre-existing injury claim must be investigated and addressed in the report. Dismiss it without investigation and it becomes the centerpiece of a defense motion. Let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic that you would like us to discuss in the comments below. Thank you for watching and don't forget to check out our second channel, Street Body Cam, for even more police interaction and courtroom content. >> Head over here. Watch your step. There's a curb. >> I didn't know if there's a curb right. >> What is wrong with Federal Way? >> Go ahead and stand right here. Widen your stance, please. Do you have any weapons or anything on you? Okay. I'm going to search you before I put you in my car. Okay. Do >> you have anything under this? >> No, sir. >> I meant like a t-shirt. >> No, I have a tank top on. Well, >> this is embarrassing. I'm in my pajamas. >> No pockets in your pajamas? >> No. >> Well, yes, but there's nothing in them. >> Okay, I'm going to check in here. Wow. No, I am supposed to >> I am fine. >> Promise you my car from 30 days.