NYPD Blue actor Ricky Schroder will not be charged after he was arrested on May 1 on suspicion of domestic violence.
The 49-year-old actor was arrested after his girlfriend called 911. The charge evaluation worksheet from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, obtained by Entertainment Tonight, said the girlfriend later told officers they were “just having an argument.”
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However, during the 911 call, Schroder’s girlfriend told the 911 operator the actor “punched her in the face.” When deputies arrived at the scene though, the victim would not discuss the incident and kept them from taking pictures of her.
“The on scene deputies described the victim as extremely uncooperative, under the influence of alcohol, and emitting alcohol from her breath and person. One deputy attempted to use his phone to take a video of the victim’s face,” the charge evaluation worksheet reads. “The video, which is approximately 30 seconds in length, does not show any real injury because the camera is moving quickly at different angles.”
The next day, investigating officers interviewed the woman about the incident, and she claimed Schroder “accidentally” hit her. She said she surprised Schroder, who was sleeping after drinking alcohol and taking Ambien. “When the suspect was startled by the victim, he flailed his arms and accidentally hit the victim,” the document reads.
According to the D.A., it would be hard to prove the case because the alleged victim was also under the influence of alcohol at the time. Since she was not impaired during the follow-up interview the next day, her statement would provide reasonable doubt. So, the D.A. chose not to press charges.
This was the second alleged domestic violence incident involving Schroder in the past two months. On April 2, there was another incident at the same home with the same alleged victim.
Schroder won a Golden Globe as a child actor for 1979’s The Champ and is best known for his role as Detective Danny Sorenson on NYPD Blue from 1998 to 2001. More recently, he starred in the Dolly Parton TV movies Coat of Many Colors and Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love. He also starred in Strong Medicine and 24.
In 2016, Schroder and his wife Andrea Schroder divorced after almost 24 years of marriage. The couple have four children, Holden, Luke, Cambrie and Faith.
Earlier this month, a source told Entertainment Tonight that Schroder has been struggling since the divorce, and his family has been trying to help him break dangerous habits. His family reportedly tried to have an intervention for him.
“There have been so many red flags and his family has constantly worried what will happen next,” the source claims. “His family loves him so much, in fact, just last week, they all sat down together and talked to him about his detrimental behavior. They felt he needed an intervention and that would be the only way for him to see he needed help. They explained enough is enough. His kids told him how much they loved him and wanted him around. They told him they don’t want to lose their father.”
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