Charges Dropped Against Detroit Mom In 2011 Standoff With Police
DETROIT (WWJ) - A lengthy legal fight is finally over for a Detroit mom who held police on a 12-hour standoff over her right to refuse her daughter's medication.
A judge on Wednesday dropped criminal charges against Maryanne Godboldo on the grounds that she's too ill for a legal fight.
Police claimed Godboldo fired a warning shot when they arrived at her door in March of 2011, along with Social Services, and tried to take custody of her child.
Godboldo's attorney Byron Pitts says there was never any proof that Godboldo, who 58 years old at the time, fired a shot. He says she was simply fighting for her right to ween her 13-year-old daughter off Risperdal.
"Mrs. Godboldo simply from the beginning was only attempting to do the best thing she could for her child and to protect her child from any and all harm," Pitts said.
"There's a litany of negative side effects this drug has; some of which the minor child, Arianna, was suffering from," he said. "Its a psychotropic drug that was affecting her daughter's behavior. The daughter was acting out in a way that was violent and aggressive, and Maryann Godboldo believed completely that it was caused by the medicine."
Godboldo was charged with three counts of felonious assault, discharge of a weapon, resisting and obstructing an officer and felony firearm. Those charges were twice dismissed by Detroit courts then reinstated in 2013 after an appeal by Wane County Prosecutors.
The Godboldo case has received national attention as supporters are rallied behind her, saying they were focused on protecting parental rights. Supporters argued Child Protective Services overstepped their boundaries by trying to force their view on the family as to what kind of medication the girl should be given.
Pitts says family members are now helping Godboldo to care for Arianna, who is no longer on the drug.
