DETROIT – Charges were dismissed against Maryanne Godboldo in a hearing Friday, as the judge affirmed a previous decision that evidence was insufficient that she wrongfully tried to shoot police officers that tried to take her daughter from her home.
"This court finds that the defendant in fact did use reasonable force in this case -- did not use deadly force ... to prevent an illegal attachment, to prevent the removal of her child by the Detroit police," said Judge Richard Skutt in March. "This court feels (Detroit police) did not, one, have the authority to remove the child at that time."
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Godboldo was accused of firing a shot when police tried to remove her physically-impaired daughter from her home. She didn't want her daughter taking medication that her defense says had horrible side effects on her behavior and could even prove fatal. The officers approaching her home were attempting to remove her daughter to give her the medication.
On Friday the prosecutor insisted that issues like Godboldo's are solved in the courts, not with a gun at a home.
But the defense claimed that Godboldo's show was a "warning shot" and that she had no intention of actually harming the officers. Her defense stated that "police were not shot at."
Godboldo's defense also said that Detroit police policy tells officers not to approach Child Protective Services cases in this way. It also claimed that the officers left the court order in their vehicle when they went up to the house.
Now the case against Godboldo will not go forward.