When Police Are Called to a House
C.R.S. 18-6-803.6 — probable cause of domestic violence means an arrest without undue delay
When a Colorado peace officer finds probable cause to believe a crime involving domestic violence has been committed, the officer arrests the person suspected without undue delay and charges the appropriate crime. The person arrested is removed from the scene and taken to the station for booking.
Who handles this in Colorado: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Colorado directory.
The section does not require arresting both people when both say they were victims, and does not require arresting either where the officer finds no probable cause. Where complaints come from two or more people, the officer evaluates each separately.
The Fourth Amendment draws its firmest line at the entrance to a home, and the Supreme Court of the United States has held where it falls in situations police meet at a door. Absent consent or exigent circumstances, officers may not enter a home without a warrant to make a routine felony arrest. Where one occupant consents to a search of a shared home and another who is physically present expressly refuses, the search is unreasonable as to the one who refused. And officers may enter without a warrant when they have an objectively reasonable basis for believing someone inside is seriously injured or imminently threatened with such injury. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.
Sources for this section (4)
- C.R.S. 18-6-803.6 — Duties of peace officers and prosecuting agencies - preservation of evidence
- Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980) — Warrantless entry into a home to make a routine arrest is barred
- Georgia v. Randolph, 547 U.S. 103 (2006) — A present occupant's refusal defeats another occupant's consent
- Brigham City v. Stuart, 547 U.S. 398 (2006) — Police may enter to render emergency aid
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Colorado attorney.