Stopping domestic violence

This weekend's arrest of a local defense attorney highlights one of the key parts of Pennsylvania's domestic violence law -- the 2711.
The 2711 is the section of the law that allows police officers to make warrantless arrests in domestic violence cases.
A victim may say there's nothing wrong, nothing happened here. For a myriad of reasons, he or she may deny an assault occurred. But if officers observe evidence -- either physical or corroborative -- of an assault, they are able to make the arrest, regardless of the victim's claims.
In this case, state police say Mark Zearfaus assaulted his girlfriend and chained her down in a Cresson apartment. The woman said that Zearfaus hit her and left, only to return with a chain and padlocks.
Zearfaus and the woman told the Mirror Monday that she was chained down to keep her from obtaining drugs. The woman even went to the Cambria County Courthouse to have the charges dismissed.
That's why the 2711 exists.
The courts will now sort it out.
By the way, Zearfaus is still innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.