"I want you to LEAVE, now!"
I got told that again, this last shift. As a libertarian peace officer being told this by a person whom I know to be a resident of that location, my first consideration is whether I can accommodate this citizen's demand in good conscience. Does my duty entitle me to remain, when I have been told to leave? Does my duty actually require me to remain?
In this case, the report was of a family violence call, and I felt that my duty was to interview the family members individually, away from each other, before leaving. I separated them, to the irritation of the unctuous male. The female, alone and away from the male,
My backup officer told me later that the male (with whom I had conducted business before) had called me everything but Father Christmas, and had gone on about me being a dirty cop, who brought dishonor upon the badges of my peers.
[Sigh.] Another dissatisfied customer.
Labels: ain't that just always the way?, civil liberties, conservative, day at the office, police
posted by Matt G @ 1:00 AM
11 Comments:
I'm surprised she didn't whine "But I love him!" I'm sure you will be seeing them again.
Go figure. They're all mouth when not speaking face to face.
How long before you're back there with an ambulance an a body bag??? Sounds like that one is only going to get worse!
I can't imagine the frustration of dealing with these type of calls. Somebody called you there for a reason, BUT there's nothing wrong? Hmm.
I had enough trouble dealing with BS calls when I was a Vol. FF. "Uh, Ma'am, that smell is a skunk. As firefighters, we don't do skunks. Now if the skunk were on fire then maybe..."
But, the domestic calls you get? I'd have to hit somebody the 2nd or 3rd time back to the same place.
Guess that's why you do what you do and I don't!
Ya did right.
As long as she puts up with it, as far as anyone else is concerned, it is simply poorly done consensual sado-masochism.
The second she yells for help though, ghod help the puke.
Oh well ... everyone else living within a mile radius is peacefully going about their business ... I guess it must sometimes suck to have to deal with the choice trash living inside that radius all the time.
You'll never please all the people, all the time. I gave up worrying about what people think of me on calls. I know I've done my job professionally and I respected their rights, even if they don't like it.
What would you expect from the bad guy?
When she is laying on a hospital bed I wonder if she'll still say the same thing?
Keep up the good work.
Yeah, you're a dirty cop and he's a blessed, beloved saint. Somehow I don't think his assessment will carry much weight anywhere outside a 30-foot perimeter. I've got a feeling you're going to be responding there again; I just hope it's before someone get seriously injured or worse.
So, why do we care? Why should the state care about that woman if she won't take charge of her life. There are a multitude of agencies-public and private that will help her get out of an abusive relationship- most funded by your tax dollars.
Why do we have mandatory arrest laws when any injury is observed? I am not talking, here about an obvious beating, folks. People push and shove each other all the time.
And why is it 99% (?) of the time that the husband is arrested? Study after study clearly show that the woman instigates the violence as often as the male.
And here's a possibility: Maybe they were just arguing.
Cheers.
jjet@bigfoot.com
Hey, JJet? Perhaps I didn't make clear some things:
1. I didn't push the issue, when the female, once separated from the male, told me that she had had no fight.
2. The call was made 3rd party. Sometimes the victim doesn't have the luxury of calling the police while being assaulted. And sometimes she or he is coerced to say nothing, which is why I separate them to get their independent stories.
3. 99% male arrestees for assault family violence, eh? Huh. You must get your statistics from a different place than I do. Thinking back on our last 10 or so Assault FV arrests, I'd say the ratio is about 6-4 male being arrested. Men are better at assaulting, and seem a little more prone to it (though not much more.).
4. The mandatory arrest doctrine came out after a couple of fascinating studies (Detroit, and Kansas City, if memory serves) showed that the rate of violent crime went down, and the rate of spousal murder went down, when the doctrine was followed. Now, sometimes we see that a push or shove occured, and we write the assaulter a ticket for simple assault, and split them up for the night.
5. Maybe they were just arguing. But I trust the third party caller more than I trust that guy (a methhead who's already been convicted of assault CBI FV), or his girlfriend. Maybe I'm wrong about her lying. I've been wrong before. It happens. Occasionally. But I'll bet a paycheck that I'm right. [shrug] No skin off my nose. I just did my duty, and skedaddled.
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