Englewood Officers Scale Fire Escape to Stop Beating, Police Say

Two Englewood police officers scaled a fire escape to arrest a drunken man who was beating his girlfriend in front of the woman’s 6-year-old son, authorities said Wednesday.

City officers Jerel Hammond and Joseph Doyle were checking a commercial burglary alarm around 7:20 p.m. Tuesday in Englewood’s busy East Palisade Avenue shopping district when they heard a commotion on an apartment balcony above, Detective Capt. Tim Torell said.

The officers looked up and spotted 29-year-old Donavon Brantley Hall attacking his 36-year-old live-in girlfriend, police said. Hall “violently resisted” after the officers surprised him, but he was later brought under control when back-up arrived.

The woman suffered an injury to her mouth and her young son was “extremely distraught,” Torell said.

“Unfortunately, the dynamics of domestic violence very often involves young children who suffer not only physical injuries, but emotional trauma as well. Thankfully, the child did not receive any physical injuries during this incident. Who knows what would have happened if not for the literally heroic action these officers took in scaling a fire escape, preventing further injury to the woman and getting that child into a safe situation,” Torell said in an e-mail.

Hall, a Baton Rouge, La.-native, was charged with domestic violence assault, resisting arrest and second-degree child endangerment. He was remanded to the Bergen County Jail on $56,500 bail.

Hall and the woman were both intoxicated and uncooperative, according to police. She was charged with fourth-degree child neglect and released on a summons without bail.

State child welfare authorities also responded and the child was temporarily placed with a relative, according to Torell.

“It’s unfortunate that we had to charge the mother in this case, but the facts and circumstances were clear and warranted the action against her,” the captain said.

Editor's Note: Patch is withholding the woman's name because she is the alleged victim of domestic abuse.