INTERFERING WITH A REPORT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

In domestic violence cases, there is frequently a charge of assault, harassment, or malicious mischief. In addition, defendants are also frequently charged with the crime of interfering with a report of domestic violence, which is a gross misdemeanor in Washington State. The statue that defines this particular offense states:

1) A person commits the crime of interfering with the reporting of domestic violence if the person:
      (a) Commits a crime of domestic violence, as defined in RCW 10.99.020; and
      (b) Prevents or attempts to prevent the victim of or a witness to that domestic violence crime from calling a 911 emergency communication system, obtaining medical assistance, or making a report to any law enforcement official.

Note that a crime of domestic violence must have been committed first before an allegation of interfering with a report of domestic violence can be supported. Alleged victims often make false allegations for a variety of reasons and if there is not sufficient evidence to prove that you committed a crime against the person who has accused you, than you cannot be convicted of interfering with a report of domestic violence.

There are some situations where the defendant may try to prevent someone from calling 911 when there has been no act of domestic violence committed and the person accused knows that the person attempting to make the phone call is going to make a false allegation. In this situation, it would not be considered to be interfering with a report of domestic violence because there was no actual crime to report.

RCW 10.99.020 also requires the alleged victim to be a family member or household member in order for a crime to be domestic violence. If you are accused of assaulting someone who is not a family member or a member of your household, you cannot be convicted of interfering with a report of domestic violence even if you do attempt to prevent them from calling 911.

This particular crime is separate from the underlying domestic violence allegation and, if the case goes to trial, this charge is usually brought to a jury in the same case as the underlying offense. The prosecutor will have to prove this charge apart from the underlying charge and the court will require separate jury instructions for each charge.