Police: Lindsay Lohan Committed Battery in Betty Ford Assault Case

Lohan's lawyer calls police move "highly unusual and deeply troubling"

Lindsay Lohan is a free woman -- for now.

One day after Lohan was released from the Betty Ford clinic, cops in Palm Desert, Calif. said the troubled movie star committed battery against an ex-employee of the rehab center in a Dec. 12 incident.

They forwarded the findings of their investigation to the district attorney and Lohan could face jail time once again if prosecutors charge her and she's found guilty, People reported.

"The investigation determined Ms. Lohan violated several aspects of her probation, including the battery [charge]" the Palm Desert Police department said in a press release on Tuesday.

If the 24-year-old actress is found to have assaulted Dawn Holland after allegedly drinking past curfew, she could reportedly face up to six months in jail. The Beverly Hills judge in her long-running DUI case warned her last August that she would go to jail if she violated probation, which could include even a minor offense.

Lohan's lawyer slammed Palm Desert police Tuesday, hours after the press release.

"The important, yet limited, investigatory role of the police to gather facts and collect evidence is well-established," Shawn Chapman Holley told People. "The fact that the Palm Desert Police Department went outside this limited role to issue a press statement expressing its opinion about what should happen in Ms. Lohan's case is highly unusual and deeply troubling."

Holland accused Lohan of throwing her phone at her, yanking another phone from her and spraining her hand at the Palm Springs rehab center. The rehab worker was sacked for tattling on the scuffle and then reportedly selling the story for $10,000 to online tabloids. But People magazine reported that Holland later took back her claims, explaining she, also a former addict, didn't want LiLo to be prosecuted.

"Regardless of whether the victim is cooperating, we believe there is a case here to press charges… and the investigation determined Ms. Lohan violated several aspects of her probation," Riverside County Sgt David Florez told the LA Times. "Obviously, the battery is one violation. We aren’t going to discuss the other violations at this point."

The Times, citing law enforcement sources, reported that Lohan's failure to take an alcohol breathalyzer test at the clinic also might be a probation violation.

No arrest was made because the incident didn't occur in front of an officer, People reported. But police still continued their investigation and decided to pass it along to the D.A. after their findings.

The scandal-ridden "Mean Girls" star was sent to the Rancho Mirage facility in September for violating probation stemming from a 2007 DUI. She is next set to appear in court on Feb. 25 for a progress hearing.

Selected Reading: People, New York Daily News, The Associated Press.

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