Conducting meetings of any sort over Zoom has presented a wide array of challenges that never would have ever occurred to most of us pre-pandemic, and even now, a year into it all, new concerns are still making themselves known.
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Earlier this month, a virtual court hearing was interrupted when the assistant prosecuting attorney realized that something sketchy was going on.
Mary Lindsay was answering questions about an alleged assault by her ex-boyfriend when Deborah Davis picked up on some concerning body language from her, and told the court that she believed the defendant, Coby Harris, was violating a no-contact order and actually in the same room as Lindsay.
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“Your honor, I have reason to believe that the defendant is in the same apartment as the complaining witness right now, and I am extremely scared for her safety,” Davis said. “The fact that she’s looking off to the side and he’s moving around, I want some confirmation that she is safe before we continue.”
Lindsay told the judge that she was at her own house, and Harris claimed to be at a different address. The judge asked Harris to go outside and take a photo of the house number to prove his claim, but he stalled, claiming his phone was about to die.
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At that point, police showed up outside of Lindsay’s house to check on the situation, and both Lindsay and Harris disconnected from the Zoom call for a few minutes.
Lindsay’s line eventually dialed back in, but it was Harris who showed up on screen, proving Davis right as police handcuffed him.
“Your Honor, me and Mary both don’t want the no contact,” he claimed. “I ask that be dropped. I’m sorry I lied to you. I knew the cops were outside.”
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The judge told him not to say anything else and canceled is bond, before adding a charge of obstruction of justice to the assault charges Harris was already facing.
“You hit rock bottom and you’re continuing to dig,” he said.
The Zoom recording went viral as people praised Davis for recognizing that there was a problem.
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Although the original YouTube video has since been removed, The Daily Dot reported a comment suggesting “the video makes an excellent case for the importance of having professionals trained in identifying the signs of domestic violence present at every step.”
While we won’t be living in a world that requires everything to take place over Zoom for hopefully too much longer, it certainly seems there’s something along those lines to be taken from this incident.
*First Published: March 12, 2021, 6:57 am
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