For Jane, life as a newlywed was bliss. Until the first time, she upset her husband. After coming down with a cold, Jane took $10 from their cash jar to buy cough syrup. But for Doug, this was reason enough to beat her over the head with a Christmas Decoration and choke her until she passed out. Waking up in the ER with 6 staples in her head, Jane knew what she experienced was unacceptable and needed to take him to court. But when she recounted her abuse to the judge, he seemed unwilling to listen, ultimately fining Doug $9 for the noise complaint. This isnāt your average story about intimate partner violence because Doug wasnāt just her husband, he was a cop. And for the next decade of their marriage, Jane lived in fear as he would clean his gun on the kitchen table reminding her no one would ever believe her if she tried to talk. āIām a cop, Iāll get away with it every time.ā And unfortunately, heās not wrong. The National Center for Women and Policing estimates, more than 40% of police partners experience domestic violence. USA Today led a nationwide investigation into the internal affairs of police revealing almost 2,500 new cases of domestic abuse of officers towards their partners. But what may be more disturbing is less than 10% of these officers were investigated. This negligence allows abusers to enforce laws publicly, while breaking them privately. Considering there are currently over 660,000 active police officers in the United States, this leaves up to a quarter of a million women like Jane and other police partners trapped in a system created to protect their abuser. So letās look at the causes behind police-perpetrated domestic violence, its effects and solutions. Because as the US Department of Justice reports, the #1 reason officers are called is domestic violence, and those callers have a 2 in 5 chance of another abuser knocking at the door.Ā
The LAPD knew Victor Ramos was a troubled cop. Police Wife, the first major text written on Police Domestic Violence, published in 2015 explains this didnāt change when he stormed into his wife, Melbaās, workplace, grabbed her by the hair, threw her to the ground, and pointed his gun at her. Covered in bruises and suffering from excruciating back pain, Melba bravely asked for help by filing a police report. But all the LAPD did was confiscate his gun for 16 days and within weeks he was back on patrol. Victorās violent outburst was enabled by: a lack of punishment and ineffective mental health support.
First, there are a lack of policies specific to police-perpetrated domestic violence. In 2020 The LAPD conducted an internal study finding an officer is three times more likely to lose his job if he is involved in an off-duty fist fight, than for domestic violence. Investigative Journalist, Andrew Burmon in July 20, 2022 reveals, when looking at a seven-year period of the LAPD there were roughly 230 alleged cases of domestic violence brought against officers, only four resulted in a conviction. And of the four, only one was suspended. He was asked to take three weeks off. Paid.Ā
Second, departmentsā mental health screening and support are failing. In a 2021 Study The National Library of Medicine explains, only half of Americans will experience a severely stressful event in their lifetime, while the average cop experiences 6 a year. Youād think theyād try to screen for this but NBC News of June 10, 2022 explains, there is no consistent set of mental health requirements for the job. Most departments hire outside companies to screen new recruits, often relying on only polygraphs and background checks. And even if an issue is identified, less than 20% of officers will ever seek mental health services. When theyāreĀ in the field, they protect their partner. But at home, they put their partner in danger.Ā
Victorās violence never stopped. And after years of the mental and physical abuse, Melba filed for separation, and moved into her own apartment. But she couldnāt escape because Victor was a cop and could track her location. Within weeks he kicked down her door and fired his service gun eight times, killing Melba and then himself. //This atrocity emphasizes two effects: Victim Isolation and officer aggression.Ā
First, survivors who are abused by cops have nowhere to turn. Diane Wetendorf, a retired Chicago-area domestic violence counselor, explains the normal channels for help donāt work for partners of police. While itās common to advise survivors to open their own bank accounts to escape, police officers can get access to bank databases. And shelters are almost out of the question. The Battered Womenās Justice Project explains, shelter staff openly admit they are powerless to protect abused police spouses and often turn them away. Leaving these women trapped in a cage that their abuser holds the key to.Ā
Second, violence on the job leads to violence at home. A Pew Research Center survey from six years ago of 8,000 officers found 1 in 5 said serving on the force makes them feel like theyāre always angry. 70% of these same people found aggressive policing tactics more useful. The connection is clear. Officers are in crisis and itās happening everywhere. In 2014 a retired cop shot his wife and then himself in Colorado Springs. Tacoma Police Chief David Brame, committed a murder-suicide in front of his kids two months after that.Ā A Nevada police officer killed his wife, his son, and then himself. And Joshua Boren, a Utah police officer, "killed his wife, their two children, his mother-in-law and then himself" after receiving "text messages ... hours earlier threatening to leave him after he raped her."Ā
Melbaās family demanded answers during the court case and they got one from Assistant Chief Dotson who openly admitted the department regularly covered up abuse saying they treat officers differently and investigated things internally instead of arresting them. This has to end now. No more codes of silence, no more internal investigations. Itās time to fight to protect victims of police domestic abuse: with solutions.
First, when officers beat their partners or are violent at home, they should be fired. Departments must craft specific policies outlawing this behavior, even if itās off duty. A few years ago, investigative reporting from UC Berkeley found when cases are covered by the media, cops are 5x more likely to be fired after a domestic violence charge. So if you hear about an investigation happening, donāt let up. Be loud and strong for those who cannot be. Additionally, I have pre employment psychological evaluation guidelines created by The International Association of Chiefs of Police that can improve the screening process, including in-person interviews and involving a PhD-level psychologist. Let me share it with you after the round and you can email or drop it off at your cityās HR department.Ā
Next, many departments are leading the way. Like The Plymouth (Minnesota) Police Department which implemented a āCheck Up from the Neck Upā program, which requires officers to meet with a mental health practitioner at least once per year. And since being implemented in 2019, both police & providers have boasted about the programs success. But they can do much more. The Diversion Center in Georgia has created the Anger Management Officer Workbook, which includes 100 pages for a 12-week program departments can use to educate and train officers who struggle with triggers and angry outbursts. Some of the exercises could easily be included in cadet training courses at your university. Share it with the program director and be sure to follow up. . Finally, if you know someone dating a police officer, tell them about Life-Span.org. They provide legal counsel and chat services with trained professionals for police-perpetrated violence if and when it happens.Ā
We tend to idolize and give excuses to people in uniform. But abusers donāt deserve excuses.Ā
Whether we know or not we know it, weāre all impacted when a police officer abuses his family. And after examining the causes, effects, the solution is clear. Our voices can bring these atrocities to light, when a badge wonāt.
Unseal abuse records from internal affairs (transparency)Ā
Second, we must unseal Police Misconduct Records, which in most states are either completely secretive or extremely hard to access. But the winds of change are blowing. The Pulitzer Center of January 24,2022 reports, within the last year seven big states have opened their records for misconduct within a 12 year timespan. This is a monumental step in the right direction. David Harris, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh, put it this way: āYou canāt have real accountability with the public unless you are willing to share information.ā But not all reform is the right kind, take a look at Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf, who signed a bill into law in 2020 that created a database to track police misconduct statewide and force agencies to check the database before hiring an officer. Which is an amazing step in the right direction, however, the legislature closed the database to the public. We cannot be complacent with lazy reform, we need to ensure records are open so officers are finally held accountable. Iāve created a list of every stateās current policy on Police Misconduct Records, if you live in a state with sealed records - send your legislator this letter - urging them to open police records to the public.Ā
First, we must decrease stigma surrounding police mental health services. In a personal interview with Crisis Counselor Kerri Welch, who has worked with the Blue Springs, MO Police Department for the last 13 years, she explains, there are lots of wonderful resources for our officers that have been specifically tailored to their experiences as first responders, however they often go unused and are seen as a sign of weakness. So itās not that the resources arenāt there, itās that theyāre being overlooked. We must address officers concerns: Research demonstrates that officers with concerns about the confidentiality or associated stigma of utilizing departmental services are less likely to participate in available services. So stressing the confidential natue of conseling.Ā
Because of this Walden University researchers found in a 2021 study, Police suffer from 25% higher rates of depression, burnout, substance abuse, PTSD, and anxiety than the general population.Ā
So itās not surprising The aforementioned National Library of Medicine reveals officers who donāt seek mental health services when in times of distress have an altered perception of the world, and a propensity for violence.
So it makes no sense when Police Psychologist David Thomas told GQ back in 2015
The Aforementioned Fatherly, explains, data on police domestic violence suggests they commit domestic violence at roughly 15 times the rate of the general population.Ā
When officers face no repercussions for their violence, they are free to continue their reign of terror.
Victor and Melbaās 3 sons huddled terrified in the bedroom all night until police discovered them the next morning.Ā
The Pulitzer center of October 19, 2021 explains in the Chicago PD from 2014- 2017, fewer than a quarter of officers who contested their misconduct cases ended up serving their full punishment, and more than 100 officers had their sentence reduced by over 90%.Ā
Notes for mental health pointĀ
Correlation between trauma on the job and violence at home. We need a number of some sorts. Discuss rates of mental illness too.Ā
What do departments have in place in terms of mental health resources?Ā
https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/criminal-justice/resource/five-reasons-the-mental-health-of-police-officers-needs-to-be-a-priorityĀ
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/703356
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8575544/
https://icjia.illinois.gov/researchhub/articles/addressing-police-officer-stress-programs-and-practices
Ā In 2020 Illinois passed criminal justice reform that would hold officers accountable after decades of inaction. However, even though Illinois sought to right these wrongs, there is still a major loophole in the reform that seals statewide records of police misconduct. With sealed records, no real justice or reform can be achieved. So, we must support the unsealing of records.Ā
For Jane this isnāt just a statistic. Almost every week for the rest of their ten-year marriage Doug would clean his guns on the kitchen table and remind Jane that no one would ever believe her if she tried to talk. āIām a cop, Iāll get away with it every time.ā And heās not wrong.Ā
The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Association interviewed officers asking why they hadnāt sought mental health services? Some replied they worried theyād lose their jobs, others were some officers may believe that seeking counseling will lead peers to question their ability to handle stressful situations in the field, some officers reported fear of losing their firearm privliges.
Many try to write this abuse off as stress induced by an officer's job. But letās be real, there are lots of stressful jobs. Paramedics, surgeons and firefighters donāt have this kind of problem. Award winning journalist Alex Roslin explains, The honest officers will tell you that policing is a job about control ā controlling people and chaotic environments. They are maintaining control at their job and their home, exposing two problems: victim isolation, and lack of accountability.
The aforementioned Police Wife explains, virtually no police departments have a policy of automatically firing officers with a criminal conviction for domestic abuse.Ā
This is often in direct contradiction to legislative mandates and departmental policies regarding the appropriate response to domestic violence crimes.Ā
That same report also find that cops who batter at home are more likely to commit other misconduct such as brutality against civilians and fellow officers, the shooting of unarmed civilians, sexual harrasment of young women at traffic stops, to name a few.Ā
And it doesnāt just stop at domestic violence, Police Wife confirms, cops who batter at home are more likely to commit other misconduct such as brutality against civilians and fellow officers, the shooting of unarmed civilians, sexual harassment of young women at traffic stops, to name a few.
2A - Manipulation of the system
Initially, it is extremely difficult to hold officers whoāve been accused of domestic violence because they know how the system works. The Atlantic in 2014 explains, While the average domestic violence investigations of cops can often be called into question with non officer families, when theyāre investigating their ownā¦they treat the cases like informal complaints. This manipulation of the system is a slap in the face of these women who already struggle to report, just to be ____.Ā
2B - No mechanisms for reportingĀ
We all know reporting abuse is one of the hardest things a person can face. victims of abuse face fear, intimidation, gaslighting, and other atrocities from their abusers who want to prevent any and all legal involvement. And official investigations have found that departments that tolerate abuse in officersā homes unsurprisingly mishandel violence against women in other homes. Itās clear whatās happening within police homes is clearly has an intimate connection to police relations with the public.Ā
The world watched in horror as police officer Derek Chauvin suffocated George Floyd in plain sight. We saw the 9 minute video, many of us can remember where we were, and the visceral feelings of horror we felt. When 46-year-old Jane saw this clip, she wasnāt just horrified, she was triggered. Jane tells Mel Magazine June 25, 2020, during the holidays less than a year after getting married, she took $10 from her and her husband, Dougās, shared cash jar to buy cough syrup. She thought nothing of it, until she too found herself under a knee struggling to breathe. She woke up the next morning in the ER with 6 staples in her head because her husband had beat her over the head with a Christmas decoration and choked her until she passed out. While this was blatant battery, when she tried to take him to court, the judge simply charged him for disorderly conduct and made Doug pay Jane $9 fine for the noise complaint. This isnāt your average story about domestic violence because Doug was a cop. And Jane isnāt alone -Ā the National Center for Women and Policing estimates, more than 40% of police partners experience domestic violence. For Jane this isnāt just a statistic. This was a reality for almost every week for the rest of their ten-year marriage Doug would clean his guns on the kitchen table and remind Jane that no one would ever believe her if she tried to talk. āIām a cop, Iāll get away with it every time.ā And unfortunately, heās not wrong. USA Today led a nationwide investigation into the internal affairs of police stations across the country and revealed almost 2,500 cases of domestic abuse of officers towards their spouses or partners. But what may be more disturbing is less than 10% of these officers were investigated for their abuse. This negligence allows abusers to enforce laws publicly, while actively breaking them privately. Considering there are currently over 660,000 active police offices in the united states, this leaves over a quarter of a million women living in fear, while our justice system protects their abuser. So letās look at the causes behind police perpetrated domestic violence, itās effects and solutions. Because as the US Department of Justice reports, the #1 reason officers are called isĀ domestic violence, and those callers have a 2 in 5 chance of another abuser knocking at the door.Ā
After conducting countless interviews with survivors of police domestic violence author Alex roslin explains, most of these women are frustrated that advocates of shelters donāt understand the different challenges police partners face, compared to others. For example, Often victims of domestic violence are recomended to open up a bank account in their name to create financial indenencence when planning to leave. However, for police wives - their spouses have access to track financial information and could have at local banks. For every victim of domestic violence, gainiong freedom is indescribiily hard, however for police wives, each step is 10x harder. Shelter staff admit they are often powerless to protect abused plice spouses. And some even reported turning them away.Ā
The Partnered with a Survivor Podcast explained in September 2020,
A former Alabama cop who dragged his wife out of a bar and gunned her down in 2019 used a weapon that authorities had taken away ā and then returned ā after he shot and injured her nine months prior, a report said Friday.Ā
"He shot me," Megan Montgomery told doctors, according to an investigative report obtained exclusively by NBC News. By "he," she meant her husband, a local police officer named Jason McIntosh. Police took her husbandās pistol away. Nine months later, the stateās top law enforcement agency gave it back, despite pending domestic violence charges and an active protective order. Just 16 days after that, he used the gun to shoot and kill her during another late-night dispute. Montgomery's loved ones were shattered by the loss of a devoted daughter and sister, a marketing professional with a passion for animal rescue. They were stunned to be told recently by NBC News that the state had given her abuser back the weapon he used to kill her.
LAPD officer, Victor Ramos was a troubled cop. It was no seceret to the department. Ramos showed up at his wifeās work, dragged her by the hair, threw her to the ground, pointed a gun at her, trashed her office and hung her by a hook in the bathroom. Melba, was covered in bruises and suffering with excruciating back pain - filled a police report. Her husband wasnāt charged. He merely had his guns confiscated for 16 days. At home however, the violence continued, every fight would result in him holding his gun to her head. Finally when she got the courage to file for divorce and move into her own apartmernt, victor knocked down the door and shot Melba 9 times, taking her life before then taking his own.Ā
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/09/police-officers-who-hit-their-wives-or-girlfriends/380329/ 2014 :(Ā
There's the recently retired 30-year veteran police officer who shot his wife and then himself in Colorado Springs earlier this summer.
There's Tacoma Police Chief David Brame, who perpetrated another murder-suicide in April.Ā
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=125208Ā
As the National Center for Women and Policing noted in a heavily footnoted information sheet, "Two studies have found that at least 40 percent of police officer families experience domestic violence, in contrast to 10 percent of families in the general population. A third study of older and more experienced officers found a rate of 24 percent, indicating that domestic violence is two to four times more common among police families than among American families in general.
Cops "typically handle cases of police family violence informally, often without an official report, investigation, or even check of the victim's safety, This 'informal' method is often in direct contradiction to legislative mandates and departmental policies regarding the appropriate response to domestic violence crimes." Finally, "even officers who are found guilty of domestic violence are unlikely to be fired, arrested, or referred for prosecution.
https://sites.temple.edu/klugman/2020/07/20/do-40-of-police-families-experience-domestic-violence/ This is an updated scholar confirming both 1990 studies were correct in claiming 40% of police families experience domestic violenceĀ
Problem drinking is another aspect of the work-family spillover that may contribute to the incidence of violence in police families. Police scholars identified the problem of off-duty alcohol abuse as early as the 70s, and estimated that as many as one in four officers had serious alcohol problems (Dishlacoff, 1976; Nordlicht, 1979)
Thereās still a good deal we donāt know. āSelf-reportedā abuse isnāt the most trustworthy metric for determining genuinely abusive behavior, and a lot of questions remain about just how representative these samples are of police at large. However, itās entirely possible that this methodology would lead to an underestimation of domestic violence among American police.
Thereās also the fact that these surveys are coming from data collected over three decades ago. Itās possible that things have changed but there have been no major attempts to collect new data and, of course, no major push at reforming police departments, so we just donāt know. More research would need to be done to determine the real depth and causes of the issue but, based on available data, it does seem like domestic abuse is unusually common among police families.
https://a.co/d/9iqgKRVĀ Book āPolice Wifeā pub 2017Ā
https://www.fatherly.com/life/police-brutality-and-domestic-violence 2022
Though data on police domestic violence is not only notoriously difficult to gather but also skewed by a culture of silence and intimidation, it suggests that police officers in the United States perpetrate acts of domestic violence at roughly 15 times the rate of the general population. Because officers tend to protect their own, domestic victims of violent cops often donāt know where to go.
showed that between 1990 and 1997, 227 alleged cases of domestic violence were brought against police officers, only 91 were sustained and only four resulted in the conviction of criminal charges. Of the four convictions, only one officer was suspended from duty. He was asked to take three weeks off.Ā
We should consider why the data is nonexistent or decades old. Why is no one looking at a massive issue of public interest? Iāve been working on updating my book for a third edition. Doing research Iāve found 40 examples of cops in the United States murdering their spouses. Thatās over just three years.
Abuse is an open secret among police officers. Many officers claim that itās the result of a stressful job. But in my research and in talking to domestic violence researchers, it becomes clear that stress doesnāt really cause abuse. There are lots of stressful jobs. Paramedics and surgeons and firefighters donāt have this kind of problem. The more honest officers will tell you that policing is a job about control ā controlling people and controlling chaotic environments. It attracts people with that mentality and that desire. Not all police officers are the same, but the more authoritarian police officers are the more likely they are to be violent at home. These men arenāt losing control. They are maintaining control. Thatās different.
The reality is that police are being put into places in society where they are supposed to be in control. Still, we have both movements toward recognizing the rights of more groups ā notably women and minorities ā and more inequality than ever. Maintaining control in that environment becomes extremely taxing. My fear is that this is trending the wrong way. When police are protecting this kind of status quo, youāre going to see more domestic violence, not less. The inequalities of society force us to empower the police. And that empowerment results in the hiring of abusers. Police domestic violence is a mirror held up to our society. Who polices an unequal and violent society?
What happens to partners abused by the police? In general, these women are terrified. Normally, domestic violence survivors are not in a good place. But these women know the cop has a gun and knows how to commit violence without leaving a mark and they say, āEveryone will think youāre crazy.ā And she canāt necessarily go to a shelter because he knows where they are.
Alex Roslin, author of Police Wife: The Secret Epidemic of Police Domestic Violence, the American Society of Journalists and Authors-award winning book that constitutes perhaps the only major work on this subject.
https://www.wsfa.com/2022/03/15/scottsboro-officer-killed-wife-critically-injured-after-shooting/ 2022 - officer shoots ex wife then himself (not much detail)Ā
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/alabama/articles/2022-03-16/alabama-police-officer-shoots-estranged-wife-kills-self (same story as before different source)Ā
https://people.com/crime/ex-cop-accused-murdering-wife-stepdaughter/ 2022
https://www.newsweek.com/police-officer-kills-daughter-himself-after-argument-wife-1725663 2022Ā
https://www.vice.com/en/article/wx5vbn/pretty-shocking-two-thirds-of-cops-accused-of-domestic-abuse-face-no-further-action 2022 UK
https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/records-show-illinois-fails-hold-police-accountable-misconduct (Look through for data)Ā
