When Police Are Called to a House
R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-29-3 — a domestic call with an injury means an arrest, within twenty-four hours, whatever the victim asks
An officer at a domestic violence call with probable cause arrests and takes into custody the person believed responsible for any of these:
- A felony assault.
- An assault that caused bodily injury, whether or not the officer can see it.
- Action meant to make someone fear imminent serious bodily injury or death.
- Violating a protective order or a no contact order the person knew about.
Not the victim's call. The decision to arrest does not depend on the victim's consent, does not consider the parties' relationship, and is not based only on a victim's request. A warrantless arrest is made within twenty-four hours of the alleged crime.
A conviction for a domestic violence crime brings a batterer's intervention program at the person's own expense and a $125 assessment. A second domestic misdemeanor brings ten days to one year in jail.
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.
A protective order is a separate civil case. A particular situation is a question for a licensed Rhode Island attorney.
Sources for this section (5)
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-29-3 — Law enforcement officers; Duties and immunity
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-29-5 — Disposition of domestic violence cases
- 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 Rhode Island attorney.