Are Statements Made by a Victim During An Emergency Nontestimonial and Admissible ?

In State v. Brown, Cuyahoga App. No. 87651, 2006 Ohio 6267, the police officers who responded to an assault dispatch observed the victim was bleeding and holding his side and was still excited from what had happened. Id. When the police went to the victim's aid, he told the police that his girlfriend had stabbed him and pointed to a vehicle up the street in which his girlfriend was located. Id. The Court found the primary purpose of the interrogation was to assist the victim in an ongoing emergency, not to establish or prove events potentially relevant to criminal prosecution. Id. Accordingly, the statements were found to be nontestimonial and properly admitted. Id.