Restraining Orders

Through the Police or Sheriff (Criminal). If the abuser violates the protection order, you can call 911 to report it to law enforcement. Tell the officers you have a protection order and the abuser is violating it. Violation of an order can be a Class 1 misdemeanor or, if the violation involves an assault, a Class 6 felony.¹ To see the other reasons that a violation of an order of protection can be a Class 6 felony or higher, read section 22-19A-16 on our Selected South Dakota Statutes page.

It is generally a good idea to write down the names of the responding officers and their badge numbers in case you want to follow up on your case. Also, make sure to ask the police to write a report on the incident even if the abuser is not arrested. This could be valuable legal documentation if you need to prove a violation of the order in the future. If the police do not arrest the abuser, you may be able to file a criminal complaint yourself. You can call your local police department or district court to get a complaint form.

Note: If the abuser is arrested for assault or stalking, s/he is not allowed to contact you or your family or household members either directly or through a third party until the first court appearance or until a judge allows that contact to happen.² 

Through the Civil Court System (Civil). You may also file for civil contempt for a violation of the order. The abuser is in “civil contempt” if s/he does anything that your protection order tells him or her not to do. To file for civil contempt, go to the clerk’s office in the court that issued your order and ask for the petition.

For more information about contempt, including the difference between criminal contempt and civil contempt, go to our general Domestic Violence Restraining Orders page.

¹ SDCL § 22-19A-16
² SDCL § 22-19A-17