Domestic violence victims must be protected

In a March 22 article about the state’s widespread practice of making “dual arrests” in domestic violence cases, the president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association argued that education of officers, not a change in state law, was the best solution to the problem of victims being arrested along with their abusers.

That stance inappropriately minimizes the severity and urgency of the problem.

Police in Connecticut arrest “both parties” in domestic violence situations 18 percent of the time, compared to only 2 percent nationwide. And the rate is much higher in some individual communities in the state.

State law requires police to make an arrest when it’s clear that domestic violence has taken place, an important reform that was adopted after the Tracey Thurman case years ago, when Torrington police repeatedly declined to intervene, leading to her near-murder.

But unlike other states that have similar laws on the books, Connecticut does not have language requiring police to identify and focus on the “primary aggressor” in domestic violence situations. Someone can be tormented by an abuser, and if they push them away or defend themselves before police arrive, they are likely to be arrested as well. Or, if someone’s abuser accuses the person who called police of starting it, or hitting them also, and it’s unclear, police are likely to arrest both.

It’s not hard to understand why the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association would oppose legislation that would require police to do extra work - identifying the “primary aggressor” in this case. But on the other hand, investigating and identifying the culprit in a crime is what police do all the time.

Much is at stake. When the true victim of a domestic violence situation is arrested under this practice by police, they are humiliated, it costs money, can put their children at risk, and can affect their careers. All and only because they called the police to stop the abuse.

Domestic violence agencies — including Susan B. Anthony Project and Women’s Supportive Services in this area — do a good job helping victims through the court process and in many cases getting arrest records nolled as part of an arrangement that involves counseling.

But victims shouldn’t be subject to arrest in the first place, and people who work at those agencies will tell you that many victims are reluctant to call police in the first place, for fear they will be arrested, too.

No doubt, more education for officers is needed (although no specific plan or timetable or method or funding was mentioned). But all of the education officers have received on domestic violence to date has still left us with a dual arrest rate of 18 percent, vs. 2 percent in the rest of the country - with an obvious explanation, the flaw in our law.

This system is broken, and lives are being destroyed. It’s time to change the law. — Matt DeRienzo, Litchfield