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| Domestic Violence |
With so much written about conflict resolution, you might get the
impression that it's a very difficult thing to achieve. Actually…as a police
officer, you have a unique tool that no other practitioner of conflict
resolution possesses. It's called the power of arrest.
Foul…foul! Sorry. Arrest is not a politically correct form of true conflict
resolution except in instances of domestic violence. In cases of domestic
violence, where a man is almost always the aggressor — or the one who
usually does the most damage — it's now perfectly acceptable, and
expected, to use arrest as a resolution of first resort. While arrest as a
resolution for domestic violence is the only effective resolution for a
domestic violence incident, it, like every other process deemed to be
politically correct, can be abused.
Imagine yourself as a detective lieutenant. One of your sergeants is in
charge of your domestic violence squad. The sergeant is trying to leave his
wife. Everyone in the unit has sympathy for the sergeant, because those
members who know his wife are unanimous in their support of his pending
escape. On the eve of that escape, there is the expected argument
between husband and wife. Following the argument, the wife leaves the
home. Several hours later, there's a knock at the door.
The sergeant opens his front door where he's greeted by two uniformed
police officers. The officers explain that his wife has made an allegation of
domestic violence against him. The officers tell your sergeant that they've
been ordered, by their lieutenant, to place him under arrest. The officers
are very apologetic. They explain that they don't believe his wife since she
changed details of her account several times during an interview, and a
hospital examination revealed no evidence of injury.
Think about this. The crime alleged is a misdemeanor assault not
committed in an officer's presence. There's no evidence of injury to the
alleged victim. There are no exigent circumstances such as the victim
being in imminent danger. Even under expanded domestic violence laws,
an arrest warrant should have been obtained. Had the warrant application
been presented to a court commissioner or magistrate not enslaved to
political correctness, the court official may have had pause due to the
changing account by the alleged victim. In reality, I don't think any such
warrant issuing authority exists anywhere when it comes to a police officer
accused of domestic violence.
Anyway…on with the story. The officers execute the technically false
arrest and off they go. When you learn of the arrest, your conversation
with the lieutenant who ordered the arrest only confirms what the
arresting officers told your sergeant. Nobody believed the wife…but,
hey…everybody has to cover his ass.
It only gets worse. The next day the alleged incident is all over the six and
eleven o'clock television news complete with TV footage of the sergeant's
house. The following morning, the story is on the front page of the metro
section of your city's daily newspaper. That afternoon, you get a telephone
call from the reporter who wrote the newspaper story. You tell the
reporter that while you cannot discuss any details of the incident, you
assure him that there is "no story." The reporter doesn't let up. He
continues to ask you questions in an effort to wear you down. You hold
fast…but, he slips. He reveals to you that the sergeant's wife called him.
He realizes he screwed up, because the line falls silent. You then take the
initiative, and you get him to admit that this was the first time he knew
of; wherein, an alleged victim of domestic violence made the initial contact
with a newspaper reporter. The call ends with you believing you've
reasoned reasonably with a reasonable man. No such luck. The next
morning you read the second story on the front page of the metro section.
The television coverage lasts another two days.
The only thing that made the false allegation of domestic violence
newsworthy was the sergeant's position as the supervisor of an
investigative domestic violence squad. Had he just been a regular cop, the
groundless media assault against him would have only lasted one day
instead of three.
Your sergeant's luck does improve. While internal domestic violence
investigations can last many months, your sergeant is back to duty in one
month. And…yes, he made good on his escape.
impression that it's a very difficult thing to achieve. Actually…as a police
officer, you have a unique tool that no other practitioner of conflict
resolution possesses. It's called the power of arrest.
Foul…foul! Sorry. Arrest is not a politically correct form of true conflict
resolution except in instances of domestic violence. In cases of domestic
violence, where a man is almost always the aggressor — or the one who
usually does the most damage — it's now perfectly acceptable, and
expected, to use arrest as a resolution of first resort. While arrest as a
resolution for domestic violence is the only effective resolution for a
domestic violence incident, it, like every other process deemed to be
politically correct, can be abused.
Imagine yourself as a detective lieutenant. One of your sergeants is in
charge of your domestic violence squad. The sergeant is trying to leave his
wife. Everyone in the unit has sympathy for the sergeant, because those
members who know his wife are unanimous in their support of his pending
escape. On the eve of that escape, there is the expected argument
between husband and wife. Following the argument, the wife leaves the
home. Several hours later, there's a knock at the door.
The sergeant opens his front door where he's greeted by two uniformed
police officers. The officers explain that his wife has made an allegation of
domestic violence against him. The officers tell your sergeant that they've
been ordered, by their lieutenant, to place him under arrest. The officers
are very apologetic. They explain that they don't believe his wife since she
changed details of her account several times during an interview, and a
hospital examination revealed no evidence of injury.
Think about this. The crime alleged is a misdemeanor assault not
committed in an officer's presence. There's no evidence of injury to the
alleged victim. There are no exigent circumstances such as the victim
being in imminent danger. Even under expanded domestic violence laws,
an arrest warrant should have been obtained. Had the warrant application
been presented to a court commissioner or magistrate not enslaved to
political correctness, the court official may have had pause due to the
changing account by the alleged victim. In reality, I don't think any such
warrant issuing authority exists anywhere when it comes to a police officer
accused of domestic violence.
Anyway…on with the story. The officers execute the technically false
arrest and off they go. When you learn of the arrest, your conversation
with the lieutenant who ordered the arrest only confirms what the
arresting officers told your sergeant. Nobody believed the wife…but,
hey…everybody has to cover his ass.
It only gets worse. The next day the alleged incident is all over the six and
eleven o'clock television news complete with TV footage of the sergeant's
house. The following morning, the story is on the front page of the metro
section of your city's daily newspaper. That afternoon, you get a telephone
call from the reporter who wrote the newspaper story. You tell the
reporter that while you cannot discuss any details of the incident, you
assure him that there is "no story." The reporter doesn't let up. He
continues to ask you questions in an effort to wear you down. You hold
fast…but, he slips. He reveals to you that the sergeant's wife called him.
He realizes he screwed up, because the line falls silent. You then take the
initiative, and you get him to admit that this was the first time he knew
of; wherein, an alleged victim of domestic violence made the initial contact
with a newspaper reporter. The call ends with you believing you've
reasoned reasonably with a reasonable man. No such luck. The next
morning you read the second story on the front page of the metro section.
The television coverage lasts another two days.
The only thing that made the false allegation of domestic violence
newsworthy was the sergeant's position as the supervisor of an
investigative domestic violence squad. Had he just been a regular cop, the
groundless media assault against him would have only lasted one day
instead of three.
Your sergeant's luck does improve. While internal domestic violence
investigations can last many months, your sergeant is back to duty in one
month. And…yes, he made good on his escape.
Talk about
stress...
stress...
Domestic Violence
and the male
police officer
and the male
police officer
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