Abuse of Power

THE clearinghouse on police-perpetrated domestic violence

...As advocates, we're forced to re-evaluate our standard interventions

Supporting Victim Reporting

EXCERPT from When the Batterer Is a Law Enforcement Officer: A Guide for Advocates (The complete Guide (96 pgs) is available in PDF format at no charge through the Battered Women's Justice Project.)

Meeting with the batterer's chief or supervisor is intimidating to most victims. Many victims of police-perpetrated domestic violence report being treated with skepticism or hostility when they have complained to the department. It may help if an advocate can get the department's permission to accompany her.

Advocates can also be intimidated by the authority and procedures of law enforcement. Ideally, agency staff have already met with their legal advisor and discussed agency safety plans. We should be familiar with the department's complaint and disciplinary procedures, or where to safely obtain reliable information about those procedures. We can provide important support to the victim by relaying sound information about how to approach the department and what to expect in its response.

Advocate Support

Our role depends on the level of participation the victim wants us to have when she meets with department supervisors, and any restrictions that the department places on our participation. Generally, an advocate who accompanies a woman is a witness, not a participant in the proceedings. As such, we are there to provide silent support, to review the event afterwards and to provide a "reality check" about what occurred. We can assist her in making notes of what was said and promised.

You must discuss the role she wants you to play before the meeting. For example, does she want you to ask questions about certain things, such as departmental policy or disciplinary action? As advocates, we must never volunteer information that a victim does not want the department to know. If she doesn't want to report that her abuser held a gun to her head because she is afraid he will lose his job, you must not disclose that information.

She may see the department as the only authority that the batterer will listen to. She probably does not want to damage his career, and may want to save the relationship. She may want someone to talk to him and make him stop his threatening and abusive behavior. She might be hoping that the department can influence him to get counseling. She may fear that she will not receive police protection when she needs it, and wants the chief to be on notice. She may be seeking justice for herself or believe that the community shouldn't be exposed to an abusive officer. She may be outraged that the abuser continues to enjoy the status and privileges of an officer while he flagrantly breaks the law.

Our role is to help her clarify why she wants to involve the department and help her assess whether her goals are realistic. We can help find the words to describe her abuse accurately, in detail, and in her own words. We can discuss her concerns about the department's response, her batterer's reaction, and the impact on her safety, financial security, and support from the wider police family.

We can use what she knows about the department to help her anticipate how her complaint is likely to be received. The supervisor or investigator may be dismissive of her, refuse to take her complaint, or insinuate that she is exaggerating or fabricating a story. They may patronize her and give the appearance that they take her complaint seriously, but take little further action. They may take her complaint seriously and react more aggressively than she anticipated. She should be prepared for any of these responses.

Types of Behavior to Report

Departments hold to different degrees of professional conduct. Some departments adhere to strict rules of conduct, both on and off duty while others do not. An advocate can help a victim identify which actions violate the law, violate departmental policy, misuse police power or equipment, or tarnish the department's public image rather than behaviors the department can dismiss as "personal."

The victim needs to know that her conversations with the department will not be confidential. Once notified of officer misconduct, the chief or supervisor cannot keep the disclosure confidential. There will be an investigation which may increase her danger.

Risks of Making a Complaint

Involving the department is a serious step. The abuser will perceive it as a threat to his job. He may develop a strategy to protect himself. He knows that the credibility of victims and witnesses is the most important element of a complaint. When the victim is the sole witness, it will be easy for the abuser to cast doubt by characterizing it as a "he said, she said" situation. He will campaign to discredit her credibility in the department, in her family, and in the community.

The batterer's status gives him credibility that influences other professionals in the community — prosecutors, judges and psychologists — who may have power over the victim's life. Family and community members are also influenced by their perception that police officers are good judges of human character and human situations. If the victim has alcohol, drug, or mental health problems, she will be particularly vulnerable to his attempts to discredit her.

Department's Response

In many jurisdictions, the commanding officer's response is limited by the labor (union) contract. Officers have a right to due process, and the officer will have every opportunity to defend himself. The administration and the victim may have very different ideas of what constitutes adequate discipline. To the victim, a five-day suspension seems exceedingly light punishment, whereas within the department it may be considered adequate or even harsh discipline.

Legal Action

Victims need to know that lawsuits against law enforcement agencies are very difficult, lengthy and expensive. What can seem to be a solid claim of "failure to protect" or "denial of civil rights" can be difficult to prove and exhaust her financial and emotional resources. Filing a lawsuit can also put her in danger of retaliation by the department.

The department may feel it is backed into a corner and respond by shutting down further communication. A better strategy, particularly early on in a victim's efforts to seek help from the department, is for her to make it clear that she doesn't want to put herself or anyone else through the expense or embarrassment of a lawsuit. She is simply asking the department to protect her and to enforce the law.

Threatening to sue should be a last resort that a woman considers with guidance from an attorney. She might also consult with others who are familiar with designing strategy for civil actions against police agencies. We can help her locate this expertise, via state and national battered women's and civil rights organizations.

Media Exposure

Some women may think media exposure will make them safer, by holding the department publicly accountable for responding to the batterer. Others may be persuaded by reporters that they can "help the cause" by telling their stories. We must advise victims to be cautious about what they disclose to a reporter. Once she opens her life to media attention, there is no going back. What gets into the story may be only the most sensational or bizarre aspects of her experience.

Media attention can be very perilous ground. Victims are not necessarily safer if they are in the public eye, particularly in cases involving police, public officials, or other high-profile abusers. It may raise the stakes for the abuser to silence the victim through threats, intimidation, or violence. He may also work harder to discredit her and turn any initial public sympathy against her. Media attention can also be humiliating, stigmatizing, and frightening for children.

If she wants to use the media to tell her story, be sure to talk through the possible risks and benefits, never underestimate the danger, and have a safety plan in place.