University of Phoenix Material Family Violence Analysis Case Police Report On March 17th, 2016, at approximately 9:00 a.m., the Anytown Police Department responded to a 911 call at the Budget Inn located at 2259 Main Street. The caller indicated that she could hear a woman and a small child screaming in the room next to her. When officers arrived at the location, they could also hear the disturbance and responded to Room 222 where the noise seemed to be coming from. Officer Jones knocked on the door and announced his presence, asking that the door be opened. There was no verbal response to his request but there was a scream and the sound of glass breaking. At this point, Officer Jones and his partner, Officer Smith, forcefully entered the room, again announcing their presence. Upon entering the room, the officers noted that there was a young, African American woman lying on the floor, bleeding from multiple sites on her body. This woman would later be identified as 25 year old Michelle Smith. Standing over her, with his right hand balled into a fist, was an adult Caucasian male, who would later be identified as 30 year old Conner Jones. Two children were observed in the room, one standing on each bed, and crying. The children would later be identified as 5 year old Arielle Jones and 8 year old Taylor Jones. Officer Smith immediately apprehended Mr. Jones, who continued to yell at Ms. Smith. Officer Jones responded to Ms. Smith where she lie on the floor and radioed for back up and an ambulance. While waiting for the other personnel to arrive, Officer Smith escorted Mr. Jones out to the police car. While exiting the room, Mr. Jones attempted to kick out at Ms. Smith where she lie. His kick was blocked by Officer Jones, while Officer Smith cautioned him against continued behavior of that type. Ms. Smith began to stir on the floor and yell out “my babies! Where are my babies?” Arielle attempted to join her mother on the floor however, Officer Jones asked her to stay on the bed until he could make sure that her mother was ok. Taylor spontaneously yelled out “Daddy hit Mommy. He’s always hitting Mommy, especially after they use the white pipe. She’s always crying and I don’t like it.” At this time, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s) arrived and began to tend to Ms. Smith. Officer Jones then asked both girls to join him outside, where they encountered staff from the Inn’s Housekeeping Department. Officer Jones asked the housekeeping staff to open another room so that he could talk to the girls separate from where their mother was with EMT’s. The housekeeping staff opened a room and Officer Jones asked the girls what happened today in their room. Arielle was still very weepy and unable to talk however, Taylor said that her Mommy and Daddy started to fight that morning; her Daddy asked her Mommy for money and her Mommy said that she didn’t have any because she had just paid for the room for two more nights. Taylor went on to say “Daddy started walking real fast around the room. He always does that when he’s mad. So Mommy told us to start putting on our clothes so we could leave. We try to leave whenever Daddy starts walking real fast but sometimes we don’t make it. This time we didn’t make it.” At this time, backup officers responded to the room. Officer Jones asked one of them to call Child Protected Services (CPS) and asked the other to provide an update as to the condition of Ms. Smith. Arielle stopped crying and said that she was hungry. Officer Jones asked the girls when they had eaten last. Taylor said they had burgers and fries from McDonald’s the day before after school but they hadn’t eaten anything since then. Officer Jones radioed for one of the backup officers to tend to the girls; when that officer came, Officer Jones went back to Room 222 to check on Ms. Smith as he had not been updated on her condition. Officer Jones arrived to the room to find Ms. Smith sitting up on a stretcher with an oxygen mask on her face. On the side of the room away from Ms. Smith, an EMT informed Officer Jones that Ms. Smith had suffered multiple contusions to various locations on her arms, legs and face, and was reporting pain in the affected areas. They would be transporting Ms. Smith to the hospital for medical clearance, where she would likely have an overnight stay, as she was mumbling incoherently, had an elevated body temperature, and said that an area of her stomach was sore to the touch despite not having any visible injury there. Officer Jones next responded to the police car where Mr. Jones was sitting in the backseat with the door open. His face was red and flushed, his pupils fixed and dilated and he was sweating profusely. Officer Smith said that during a search of Mr. Jones’ person he had located a pipe with residue that tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine, as well as a lighter and a small square of aluminum foil. Officer Smith also shared that Mr. Jones had an outstanding bench warrant for a failure to appear for a drug related charge and that he would be detained. At this point, Ms. Smith was wheeled past the squad car into a waiting ambulance and Mr. Jones began to yell “give me my kids!” and slam his head against the front seat of the car. Both officers worked to restrain and redirect Mr. Jones. A short time later, backup personnel Officer Klein responded to the scene, but away from the squad car where Mr. Jones was being detained, holding the girls’ hands. She advised that CPS was in route and that she’d taken the girls to get something to eat. The officers discussed that Mr. Jones would be transported downtown and that with Ms. Smith was going to the hospital and the girls would need to be placed in protective custody. After the Incident Imagine you are a Family Services worker for a new program that integrates Child Protective Services, Mental Health Services and Emergency Personnel. You arrive to the hospital and are advised that Ms. Smith has been admitted and taken to a room where she is awaiting test results. You arrive in Ms. Smith’s room and note that she has a bruise on the right side of her face and a few more visible on both arms. You introduce yourself from the door and ask if you can speak with her. Ms. Smith begins to cry but says that she will talk to you. You ask Ms. Smith if she knows why you are there. Ms. Smith says she does; that she was in foster care as a child and that you probably took her babies away after the police came. You advise Ms. Smith that her children are in foster care because there was no parent at the hotel room to look after them. Ms. Smith says that she already knows her husband has been arrested because he has “a lot of warrants on him.” You ask Ms. Smith what happened that morning. Ms. Smith said that the night before Mr. Jones left their hotel room at about 6:00 p.m. and did not come back to the room until the next morning at about 8:30 a.m. She said that she “sometimes” uses drugs but that Mr. Jones uses them “all the time; he’s high all the time if we have money” and that she knew that Mr. Jones had been out using drugs all night because of the friends he left with. She said that when Mr. Smith got to their room he asked her for more money but she told him that she didn’t have any because she had paid for two more nights in the hotel. Ms. Smith said that she did actually have some more money but she didn’t want to give it to Mr. Jones because she wanted to go up the street to the Wal-Mart and get some groceries for the family and she knew that Mr. Jones wouldn’t have cared about getting food because he rarely has an appetite. She goes on to tell you that when she said she didn’t have any more money Mr. Jones got angry. She said that she was trying to get the girls together to leave; she tries to not be around him when he’s mad and they were already late for school anyway but as she walked past him to grab a jacket for Arielle he slapped her and pushed her onto the bed. As she was trying to get up Mr. Jones punched her in the face and she screamed and then the girls began screaming. She says she “blacked out or something” because the next thing she remembers is that the police where there. You ask Ms. Smith how long she and Mr. Jones have been together and she tells you that that they have been together “off and on” since she was 15; “so for about 10 years or something like that.” She said that Mr. Jones was a friend of one of her foster brothers and that’s how they met. You ask Ms. Smith what her drug of choice is and she says “it’s not my choice, but I smoke crystal sometimes. That’s it.” You verify that Ms. Smith indicated methamphetamine in her answer. Ms. Smith asks if you can take her kids to be with her Mom. You tell her that you would need to talk to her mother first and that there are some background things that need to happen before the girls could be placed with any family members. Ms. Smith replies “oh, well she won’t get my kids then because we were in foster care when we were little, so she won’t pass nothin’. You guys probably won’t do that.” Ms. Smith suggests that you call her sister instead and gives you her contact information. Ms. Smith asks whether she can talk to you later because she is very sleepy and sore and wants to rest. Ms. Smith says that she doesn’t have a phone but her sister can get a message. You give her your card and ask her to call you when she wakes up. You direct her to the back of the card where you have written the information for the court hearing that will happen in the event that you are unable to release the children to either her or her husband today. As you walk toward the door of the room Ms. Smith shifts in her bed and you notice a small lump in the blanket under her stomach. She rushes her hand to cover it. You ask Ms. Smith if she is perhaps pregnant. She shakes her head “no” very quickly then sighs and says “I am. But don’t tell Jason. He’s gonna be mad. He thought I had my tubes tied or whatever after Arielle but I didn’t. And the pill was making me too fat so I stopped taking it. He doesn’t know. Don’t tell him, ok?” You next arrive at the County Detention center. Mr. Jones is brought out to meet you. You notice that he is sweating quite a bit and his eyes are red. You observe a bandage on a knuckle of his right hand and as he sits down he says to you “I don’t have time for this Crap. What you want? Where my kids at?” You advise Mr. Jones that his children are in emergency foster care because there were no parents available for you to release them to. You also tell him that you are there to talk to him about what happened at the Inn this morning and whether he has any plans for his children. Mr. Jones says “she was lying. That’s what happened. I told her I was tired of that crap and don’t be lyin’ to me like I’m stupid.” A guard tells Mr. Jones to watch his mouth. You advise Mr. Jones that his wife is in the hospital and asks whether he knew what happened to her. Mr. Jones says he pushed her and that shouldn’t have made her end up in the hospital, so if she’s in the hospital it’s because of something else. He also tells you that he is not married to Ms. Smith. “Our last names ain’t even the same, you shoulda knew that. She says we married because she wants the girls to think that because she’s trying to look good to her family. But we ain’t married. Write that down.” You ask Mr. Jones whether this was the first time he hit Ms. Smith. He said “I mean, we get into it sometimes; I pushed her before but to get her off me. She fights me, too. Make sure you write that down, too.” You ask Mr. Jones if he knows when he’s going to be released. He says “probably like next week once they figure out these warrants ain’t really me. That takes them a minute to do sometimes.” You ask Mr. Jones whether he has any family members that his girls might be able to stay with while everything gets figured out with him and Ms. Smith. He gives you the phone number for his mother and the phone number for his brother. You advise Mr. Jones that in the event that the children cannot be released to either him or Ms. Smith today you will have to ask the court to detain the children and give him the information for the court date. Mr. Jones shakes his head and says he’s “gonna get out” and get his kids from wherever you place them, and to tell the judge that too because he is not coming to court.