Got arrested. What now?

Not asking for legal advice on my case, just anyone with experience with a similar situation, I guess.

Last week, I was arrested and charged with assault while at my college. Long story short, I was roughhousing with a friend in the dorms, he got hurt and his parents pushed him to get the police involved, despite the fact that he told the RAs in the building that it was an accident and stood around on our floor for a while joking about it with other students before we left for the hospital. They're all going to testify on my behalf, not important. I helped him clean himself up and took him to the hospital. It was all good at that point. When he called his parents to tell them we were on the way to the hospital to get stitches, they freaked and drove two hours out to the school. After his dad talked to him, he later changed his story and had me arrested that night. That's also not the important part, just some background.

I honestly wasn't concerned about the charges, having his own words on file to back up my story. However, during a meeting with the Dean of my university today, I had a chance to review the police report of the incident. Apparently, the officer wrote that I told him we had been arguing immediately prior to the incident. Complete bullshit.

First off, I'm not stupid enough to say something like that to a police officer. "Oh, yes, officer. I totally had a reason to assault him." Christ.

Secondly, the only time I ever used the word "argue" when talking to the officer was to clarify three times that we were NOT arguing. He tried to pull the stereotypical police bullshit ("So, you guys are having an argument, and...") and make me tell him what happened multiple times hoping I would slip up and say something to get myself in trouble. I guess when I didn't, he decided that he would just add in something to make it seem like I did. Further, he completely omitted the fact that the alleged "victim" had his fists raised as if to hit me, which I told him about, but didn't have the people at the school document because we were both messing around in that manner.

I found out tonight that this officer has a history of performing illegal searches on students and some of his cases have been overturned on appeal because of his actions. I might be able to find someone who could have heard us talking at the hospital, and heard that I never said we were fighting. He put that in the report so that a jury would see it and jump to conclusions about the situation without hearing the facts. I'm screwed unless there's something I can do about this.

 

I would have talked to him by now, but the court put a restraining order on me because it's an assault case. Our mutual friends have all told him that he's taken this way too far, but it doesn't matter because his parents are threatening to stop paying for college if he doesn't go through with it. I don't know what their deal is. I know his dad called one of our friends that night to ask if "that motherfucker is in handcuffs yet". Real levelheaded guy.

The funny thing is that I could have screwed his dad by reporting him when he took his son and all his underage friends out drinking one weekend last semester, but I figured it was none of my business so I stayed out of it. If I would have realized what an asshole he is, I probably would have reported him.

Anyway, all I'm concerned with right now is dealing with this false report by the officer. He knows he's lying, because I stated clearly multiple times that we were not arguing at the time of the incident. I called the station and told him that I would have a witness testify against him if he proceeded with the false report; didn't bother him one bit. Based on his history at the school, it's clear that he's one of those over-the-top, "the law doesn't apply to me" kind of officers that we all hate so much. I just never thought I'd have to deal with one of these fuckers myself.

 

I was charged with first-degree misdemeanor assault. I have a lawyer and a pre-trial conference scheduled with the prosecutor in a couple of weeks.

I would have talked to him already, but I will go back to jail if I try to contact him, including through his parents. I really don't give a shit about the charges. I have witnesses, I can deal with the facts of the case. It was when this cop with a history of overstepping the line made a false report of my statements that I got pissed. That's what's currently keeping me out of school, the fact that I "told him we were arguing" as he put it. Complete and utter horseshit. The problem is that if I file a complaint and then I can't prove that he made it up, I'll get screwed more. Some shit.

 

Found out today that the real reason he pressed charges was because he thought his dad would be mad if he found out he got hurt because he was being dumb, pushing each other around and shit in the hallway, acting like kids. No argument, no threats, no violence. Just two friends busting balls and being kids.

The motherfucker is a sociopath. He threw me under the bus because he was afraid to get yelled at by his dad. I don't care if his dad would have beat the shit out of him for doing something stupid. You don't send your closest friend to jail because you don't want to get in trouble. That's the definition of sociopathy, infringing on the rights of others to benefit yourself without emotion. I only refer to him as a.friend because until 6:11 on wednesday night, we were.

 

Little bit of an update: My University, where this all happened, found me not guilty after a hearing in front of the University Conduct Committee, a group of five graduate students and faculty members. They saw right through the inconsistencies in the kid's story and pretty much told him so at the hearing. Basically that means that I can start going to school again, after two and a half weeks missed. I still have a pre-trial conference with the prosecutor, but it looks like this is going to get dropped or lowered to disorderly conduct, which is a fine that I can deal with and no record.