Assault of a police officer (APO) is a serious charge. It’s particularly serious because if you’re convicted there’s a mandatory minimum of six months in jail. It is also a felony which means it’s very serious. In addition to the mandatory minimum of six months in jail, a person convicted of this charge is also subject to up to five years in prison and a $2,500 fine, meaning if accused, you should contact an assault lawyer in Arlington as soon as possible. An Arlington assault on a police officer lawyer can help with your case and give you information, including the three most important things to know:
When you’re charged with assault on a police officer, the first step is to reach out to an APO attorney in Arlington. Once you retain an attorney, that professional will be looking out for you and will have your long-term interests in mind. Because an experienced Arlington assault on an officer lawyer knows how a case will likely play out in court, they can provide advice on various steps someone can take to make their case better.
You should also have no contact with the police officer involved or anyone else involved in the case. There is sometimes a human instinct to want to rectify the situation or apologize to the victim. This can’t help you at this point because you have been charged with a crime, and it is ultimately the prosecutor’s decision to proceed with the case or dismiss. That apology can be used against you at trial to prove guilt.
And lastly, try to preserve any evidence you have that can help your case and provide that to your attorney. Witnesses, recordings, medical records for your injuries—whatever you have that may possibly help, save it and tell your assault on an officer attorney about it so that he or she can evaluate its worth and use it to your advantage.
These things are important because, at this point, you’ve been charged with an offense. Your sole goal at this point is to either have the charges dismissed before trial, to go to trial and win or to set yourself up for the best possible plea deal available and mitigate your potential sentence.
Not making the situation worse is crucially important at this time. Having an attorney can help you make sure that all of your steps are geared towards giving you the best possible outcome in the court system.
So it’s crucially important you cooperate to your attorney and provide all possible defenses. Don’t try to remedy the situation by calling the police officer to apologize. Allow your Arlington assault on an officer attorney, the person who has your best interest in mind, to start preparing your case.
Attorneys help your case by discussing potential defenses, reviewing the Commonwealth’s files to discuss their case against you, spot legal issues that can either get evidence suppressed or sometimes even the entire case dropped.
They can also advise you on steps you can take pretrial that will help you argue later to the court for the lowest sentence if you are ultimately convicted.
They know the motivations of the police, the history and prerogatives of the judges and prosecutors and how to communicate with each of these groups of people. Essentially, they will guide you through a very unpredictable and complex system with their extensive knowledge of that system.