Bartholomew County’s “Text to 911” system was used over the weekend to help arrest a Columbus man on domestic violence charges.

Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that at about 9:40 p.m. on Friday, a woman texted for help from a home in the 1200 block of Lafayette Avenue. He says that officers eventually made contact with the alleged victim and noted that her neck was red and her left arm was bruised. The woman reportedly told police that she had been choked and her head slammed into a wall.

Harris says that officers found 31-year-old Richard D. Trulock in an upstairs bedroom. He was arrested on preliminary charges of Strangulation and Domestic Battery with a Child Present.

Harris says that this incident illustrates the importance of the Text to 911 system, as it allows victims to ask for help without alerting their attacker. This system has been utilized in Columbus and all of Bartholomew County since 2014.