In re L.A. CA2/8

FACTS

Father is a veteran of the Afghanistan war and has two young daughters, L.A. and J.A., born in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Father and mother were separated, but living in the same home with their daughters. On May 1, 2012, father and mother had a violent altercation in the children‟s presence over a laptop computer. Father “pushed the mother‟s face to the floor, grabbed the mother‟s neck, pinned the mother down on the floor by the mother‟s neck, and choked the mother, causing the mother to have difficulty breathing. The mother scratched the father‟s hand,” and he released her. The children were crying as they witnessed the domestic violence incident, and L.A. “was very affected and scared” about the incident. Father was arrested but mother did not press charges. Father did not believe he committed domestic violence and said that mother started the incident. The incident was the only domestic violence between the parents of which anyone was aware. The department‟s investigation revealed both parents suffered from mental and emotional problems. (The mother‟s mental health issues are not pertinent to father‟s appeal.) Father had bouts of depression, and had been in military…