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a story by Charredtorso

I was working a very warm Saturday PM shift in the urban jungle, when my partner and I got an "assault in progress" call. The call was located in one of our predominately undocumented alien shithole apartment buildings. We slid up to the building within two minutes and jogged into the apartment courtyard.

We saw Julio beating the shit out of Lupita with one of those cheap plastic chairs, so popular with our Brazilian friends. My partner was Hispanic and yelled for Julio to drop the chair. Julio ignored my partner and continued to try to pound Lupita into the concrete with the chair. When Julio brought the chair up over his head, to deliver a Conan-like slam, for the 10-15th time, we grabbed him and hooked him up.

Lupita was lumped up, from the crown of her head down to her ankles. She refused medical aid, even after we told her it was free. Lupita had probably been taking beatings from Julio since they first consummated their relationship. The odds were very high that this would not be the last time Julio "tuned her up." After getting Lupita's information and Julio'd ID, we started heading for our car.

The neighbors, most of whom had been drinking beer since early in the am, became upset when they figured out Julio was going to jail JUST for beating Lupita. We began receiving trash and empty beer cans and bottles form the second floor of the apartments and the men and a few women on the ground floor took exception to us hooking Julio up. My partner hit his emergency button on his portable radio portable radio and within two minutes, there were 15 cops swarming the building.

We barely got Julio into the booking cage in our jail when the station PA said I had a visitor in the lobby. I walked out to the lobby and there stood Lupita along with several supporters. I recognized some of them as ones that had thrown stuff at us a few minutes earlier. Lupita was more the worse for the wear. She had several big lumps and bumps visible on her head and arms. Her lip was split and her eye was half swollen closed.

The desk officer, also Hispanic, translated that Lupita had found out that Julio would be locked up for the rest of the weekend, because of the domestic violence arrest. She was pissed because he couldn't work the next day if he was in jail. "Let heeeeeeeeem goooooooo" An explanation of California domestic violence law had little impact on Lupita's repeated demands. The fact that cops had witnessed the assault, had no effect on her statement that he didn't touch her. Finally, when she SPIT at me on to the Lexan window protecting the desk officer, I encouraged her friends to get her out of the station before she wound up in a cell next to her beloved Julio.

Buenas noches senora, until we meet again. It would only be a matter of time before Lupita got her bell rung again.