Police Story: Domestic Violence

In my 11 years of tour as a police officer the most common police incident reported was ‘Domestic Violence’. When I was assigned the afternoon shift not a day went by without having to record one to two Domestic Violence incident reports on my tour.

There is an incident that I recall quite vividly: it was a typically hot summer Florida afternoon, the shift started rough, with accidents and emergency responses all over the district. I was riding as a two-man unit (two-man units are assigned all high priority calls), we received a high priority response on a Domestic Violence call due to possible weapons in the house.

It had already been a stressful shift, the sun had descended and we were in the dusk of day when we responded to the pleas of a battered Hispanic woman. When we drove up to the house a Latin woman ran up to our car screaming hysterically. I quickly exited my vehicle to render aid to the victim/wife who was still screaming and crying, while my partner attempted to make sure that there was no physical threat by the spouse.

It was really hard for me to make out her face in the dark and I had to hold back my own shock at my confusion. I could not make out her face. Her mouth was moving but it did not align with her nose…she had been punched so hard that her nose had shifted to her cheek bone; one eye had sealed shut and swollen to the size of a lemon it already started turning colors. It was like looking at quasi modo. I knew that she was beyond pain and probably didn’t even realize that her face had been re-designed; keeping my eyes on my partner inside the house and totally aware that the situation had not been totally diffused I requested the paramedics to respond and tend to the victim/wife.

The tension was still in the air, I looked back in the direction of my partner, who at this point attempted to calm down this 230 lb muscular testosteroned infused Latino male but it was clearly evident by the physical abuse to the wife that the home was not a safe environment for her – anything could trigger another act of violence. In my interview with her, she stated that she had confronted her husband about an affair he was having, I tried to calm her down and asked her politely to remain outside while I tried to get his side of the story.

For our own safety the silent communication between my police partner and I said one word: Arrest. The man was pacing like a caged lion between my partner and I, his chest was heaving while he was screaming over our shoulders directing obscenities towards his wife. With a nod from my partner I began reading the man his Miranda Rights – it happened too quickly within a blink of an eye the man began swinging blows at my partner, swiftly and decisively I reached for my handcuffs while trying to halt one of the blows directed towards me. During the struggle my partner grabbed his police radio and requested additional back up, we couldn’t over estimate the adrenalin driving the man, then… out of nowhere I felt a crashing pounce on my back. The victim/wife was swinging, punching and pulling at me – shouting: ‘let go of my husband, let go of my husband!’.

My brain was trying to make sense of all that was going on real time. Trying to make sure not to get hurt, trying to make sure that the man would not reach for a weapon in his house or for ours, and on top of that there was this maniac hysterical battered beaten up wife trying to hurt me and stopping me from protecting her from future harm – and now I’m trying to protect myself from her!

In the end we ended with two arrests.

In the state of Florida the laws of arrest on domestic violence fall under chapter 901.15 sec 7:

901.15 When arrest by officer without warrant is lawful.–A law enforcement officer may arrest a person without a warrant when:
(7) There is probable cause to believe that the person has committed an act of domestic violence, as defined in s. 741.28, or dating violence, as provided in s. 784.046. The decision to arrest shall not require consent of the victim.

Domestic violence should not happen to anybody. Ever. Period.

If you know of someone that may need help, they can reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. http://www.ndvh.org/

Until the violence stops, the hotline will continue to answer…One Call at a Time. Help is available to callers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Hotline advocates are available for victims and anyone calling on their behalf to provide crisis intervention, safety planning, information and referrals to agencies in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Assistance is available in English and Spanish with access to more than 170 languages through interpreter services. If you or someone you know is frightened about something in your relationship, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224.

Daisy Says: It is a sign of restrain when men/women can argue and still be civil.