frost5al

frost5al t1_jdtzsua wrote

Reply to comment by PandaJ108 in Actor Jonathan Majors arrested in NYC for allegedly choking woman by NYY657545

TL:DR Arrest Charges and Arraingment charges are not the same thing and journalists should be better

I can explain the apparent discrepancy. “Charging” is a two step process, and each step is done by a different agency. The first is the Police, who make the arrest. On the police paperwork they will put what they arrested you for. Now, generally, the police are going to put the highest charges they believe fit the facts of what they know right in the moment. Also, Police Officers are not attorneys.

After this we move to the second step, which involves the second agency: The District Attorneys Office. A prosecutor is assigned the case, and will interview both the police officers involved, and the victim. At this point, an actual lawyer reviews the facts, and makes the decision as to what appears on the document put before the judge.

So, what happened here (and this is all base speculation) is the police responded, they have a female complainant with visible injuries, and making statements. They arrest Mr Majors based on that and charge what they can in the moment. Once the case got the the DA office (probably between 6-10 hours later), a lawyer took a look at what they had, and reduced the charges accordingly.

This isn’t meant to be an apologetic for the system, but this is how both of those statements you identified can be true.

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