When your abuser is a police officer

When the Batterer Carries a Badge

Jon Tiplady, Lieutenant, Danvers Police Department (ret.)

In 1829, Sir Robert Peel of the London Metropolitan Police Department issued a set of principals for police officers. One of them stated “The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police existence, actions, behavior and the ability of the police to secure and maintain public respect.”

One of the big challenges in building trust in a community is to maintain the integrity of a police department when someone from the organization is involved in a domestic violence incident. We have been doing training throughout the state in handling cases where a member of a particular department or an officer from an outside jurisdiction commits an act of domestic violence.

The best way to address this is not to hire someone with a past history of violence or protective orders. A thorough background check on potential officers is the most important aspect in keeping abusers out of policing. Many departments will spend up to 40 hours researching an applicant.

As has been said many times “past incidents of violence are the greatest predictor of future violence.” Officers also have to be advised throughout their training and assignments that domestic violence will not be tolerated by the organization.

Because police officers are trained to maintain control of situations, there needs to be a special emphasis on the safety and protection of a victim. Many victims are hesitant to report someone from law enforcement in fear of retaliation from the abuser and their fellow officers.

In order to counter these fears, departments are now addressing the issues with family meetings for employees. When an officer graduates from the academy, family members are invited to a meeting where domestic violence and early intervention policies are discussed. Family member are provided with a single point of contact in the department for victims to call in confidence.

Also discussed at these meetings are the myths that the courts will do nothing because they know the officer; that the victim will be responsible for the loss of a job, and that there will be retaliation by other department members

Another component of this proactive model is to inform families about resources outside the department for assistance in dealing with an abusive partner. Partners are given a comprehensive list of community services and contact information. The Boston Police Department has been a frontrunner in this strategy.

A policy also has to be put into place so that a victim can request help from the department without making a formal report. Family members are also educated about the limits of confidentiality that can be maintained when seeking help.

Training is also being done now to have departments select a risk/danger tool to gauge potential for further violence by an accused officer. Departments are training officers to do risk assessment and investigate strangulation incidents.

Many victims will state that they were “choked” by their partner. Strangulation is now being looked at as a precursor to murder and is at the top of the warning scale. Many police officers have been trained in the now illegal “choke hold’ that was used for many years with combative suspects.

Police departments are also being urged to work with another jurisdiction when an officer from another department commits domestic violence in their city. There has to be a clear policy for notifying the on-duty commander from another department when an incident occurs. This is accomplished by creating departmental memorandum of understandings (MOU’s) and making sure that there is an officer of rank at any incident involving a person from law enforcement.

Departments now require an officer to immediately report to an on-duty superior officer if they are served an order of protection. This is very important because both departmental and personal weapons have to be turned over and secured. It also may result in a change of duty status for the officer. Some small departments do not have administrative positions for an officer who cannot carry a weapon.

When the abuser is a high ranking officer or the chief of police, it is recommended that a person in local government who has direct control over the chief be notified immediately. In addition, the local district attorney’s office should be notified of the incident.

Finally, training is being done about how to respond to incidents where both parties are police officers. This presents a very unique and complex problem when both parties are in the same department. There is a need to determine who the dominant aggressor is and who the true victim is. Although the standard domestic violence response is required, supervisors and other responding officers must be very thorough in their investigation and decision making.

Further information and a national policy and concept paper are available from the International Association of Chiefs of Police.   

For additional information please see:

• The Abuse of Power

• Behind the Blue Wall

• Domestic Violence by Police Officers

• When the Batterer is a Police Officer: A Guide for Advocates

• IACP Guidelines to Address Officers Under Orders of Protection

• IACP Investigating Sexual Assaults

• IACP Policy on Domestic Violence by Police Officers

• Impact of Police Perpetrated Domestic Violence

• Information for Survivors of Police Domestic Violence

• International Chiefs of Police

• The Spring Project

• The National Center for Women & Policing

• Police Family Violence Fact Sheet

• Police and Domestic Violence

• Police Perpetrated Domestic Violence

• The Power & Control Police Violence Wheel

• Protecting Perpetrators

We highly recommend that anyone who is considering working with female police officer victims of their male police officer partner’s violence read this book first. Her situation is not the same as a civilian’s…educate yourself.