Domestic Squabbles

(Jensen Beach, Florida) Last Saturday, a 51-year-old local man, John Jeffrey Murray, was arrested for drenching his wife with a garden hose. Apparently, Mr. Murray's wife lit up a cigarette in their home and he began yelling at her and then drenched her with the hose. Mr. Murray also elbowed his wife in the mouth during a struggle for the telephone. Murray has been charged with domestic battery.

This report coupled with others, most notably the report on 6/27 when two people were charged with domestic assault because they threw Cheetos at each other, indicate that the threshold for criminal offenses in domestic squabbles has been set very low.

The reasonableness of the extremely low threshold for domestic battery is arguable. Frankly, I would suggest that law enforcers could apply some common sense when involved in picayune squabbles and avoid having to tag people with criminal records for throwing Cheetos or spraying someone with a garden hose. Not only that, but it's usually he-said, she-said in these cases.

Of course, I understand that domestic conflicts can easily escalate and the failure to stop a Cheeto-thrower in the beginning might lead to investigating a murder at a later time.

In any event, domestic squabbles are no-win situations for the police. If they arrest the Cheeto-thrower, they're criticized for wasting time on insignificant squabbles. However, if they don't arrest the Cheeto-thrower and the conflict escalates to a serious crime, they get criticized for not stopping it at the Cheeto-throwing stage. Police officers get fingers pointed at them either way.

Tip: Charlie Nestor