Domestic violence is an issue that can affect anyone. Whenever it surfaces, it can send out repercussions that emanate throughout a family, friends, law enforcement officials and the community. At Tuesday night’s Gig Harbor City Council meeting that occurred after press time, Mayor Chuck Hunter was to give a proclamation of National Domestic Violence Awareness month. Previously, Hunter has said the city is doing its part to publicize that awareness, and the city is combating the problem.
“Whenever we have an opportunity, we put out the word that this is a serious issue,” court administrator Paul Nelson said. “This should be taken as seriously as DUIs.”
Judge Michael Dunn said the state Legislature has taken steps toward dealing with the problem in the past few years by implementing a law that makes it mandatory for law enforcement officials to make an arrest on a domestic violence call if abuse is evident.
“But there’s still a perception that people don’t want to get involved if it’s between a husband and wife,” Dunn said. “And when he comes to court, 99.9 percent of the time, I immediately issue a no-contact order. In about 50 percent of those cases, the wife or girlfriend comes in later wanting to vacate the order.”
One step the courts have taken is to require those with no-contact orders to wear an ankle cuff with a GPS system that restricts a person from entering a “red zone” around a victim’s home, work or school. The system is monitored by Secure Alert, a company that works with law enforcement officials who alert the wearer if they have entered a restricted zone.
If that happens, wearers must leave immediately. If they refuse, the police are notified.
“It’s pretty high-tech,” Nelson said. “It restricts their movement within 500 feet of the given address. There’s a live person monitoring it. It sounds pretty big-brotherish, but that person has lost their freedom of movement based on their own actions.”
Nelson said the main reason for the innovation is to keep perpetrators out of jail so they can continue to work and make an income but keep them away from the victim at the same time.
“Often in these cases, there is some financial manipulation,” he said. “Either he makes all the money or most of the money. We don’t want to further agitate the situation. We want him to be able to support his family, even if they’re separated.”
If that sounds harsh, law enforcement has a keen memory of two local women who were gunned down by men in the past decade.
“One killing in a decade is too much,” Dunn said.
The judge himself was featured in a Geraldo Rivera TV program, “Geraldo at Large,” which aired in 2005 when a woman was killed in Olalla by a boyfriend who had been stalking her.
The man had numerous no-contact orders and several run-ins with police prior to the killing. Police had recommended that the woman seek help at a shelter where the stalker couldn’t find her, but she made a mistake when she went to her father’s house, where her boyfriend lay in wait outside the home.
Dunn said most abusers will try to say they’ll never abuse the victim again, but it isn’t a reason to lift a no-contact order. The judge recommends domestic violence treatment programs for perpetrators.
Studies have shown that most abusers repeat the offense, and the violence tends to escalate over time.
Dunn’s position in the court system gives him a personal view of the issue. He said he sees about 40 domestic violence cases a year.
“I’m not a detached observer,” he said. “It’s not an issue that can be brushed aside.”
Dunn said there’s no crime called “domestic violence.” It’s usually assault, malicious mischief or destruction of property.
In order to be considered domestic, it has to be between family members or people in a dating relationship. A woman can be the perpetrator, or it can be a same-sex scuffle, but it’s usually a man assaulting a woman, he said.
Violent situations often occur when the abuser is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Dunn said.
“The substance doesn’t make a person a control freak,” he said. “It just aggravates the situation. Agitators in a relationship get into patterns of deterioration. Especially in these times, when people are stressed out — they’re losing money and losing jobs. This further exacerbates the situation.”
Domestic violence runs through all cross-sections of communities, Dunn said.
“It’s not just lowlifes,” he said. “It spans all social and economic ranges. Who would ever suspected the chief of police of Tacoma?”
Dunn referred to former Tacoma Police Chief David Brame, who shot and killed his wife, Crystal Judson of Gig Harbor, in 2003 after a long history of abuse. The Crystal Judson Family Justice Center was set up in her name and is one of the local frontrunners in the fight to end the violence.
The center distributes pamphlets that describe the traits of an abuser, the qualities of a healthy relationship versus an unhealthy relationship, what domestic violence is and how to recognize it, and what a victim can do to find help.
One of the first signs of abuse is the need for control.
“When there’s an incident of violence, there’s usually years of power and control leading up to that one event,” Nelson said. “The key is early prevention. You can see these kinds of behaviors early on, even in the teens.”
Even high school students will give warning signs, and there are disturbing behaviors that parents need to recognize, Nelson said.
“Like teenage boys giving their girlfriends cell phone as gifts,” he said. “It could be that they always want to check up on them. Some even have GPS systems where they can see where they are.”
“It’s like an electronic leash,” Dunn added.
The biggest weapon in the fight is public awareness and how to take the proper steps when domestic violence is present.
“If there is a message, it’s early education,” Nelson said. “We need to teach kids to have healthy dating relationships. If we don’t treat the problem, it won’t go away.”
Children often model their own behavior after their parents, Nelson said. If children grow up in the presence of abuse, they often emulate that behavior themselves.
“What pains me the most is when kids have to go to bed listening to their parents fighting and have to get up and go to school the next day,” Nelson said. “How can we expect them to learn when they’re thinking about what they’re going to have to come home to?”
There is help for victims of domestic violence:
Pierce County Domestic Violence Helpline: 253-798-4166, 800-764-2420 or 253-798-6050.
Crystal Judson Family Justice Center in Tacoma. Office: 253-798-4310; Crisis line: 253-798-4166, 800-764-2420 or 253-798-4620 TDD. E-mail: familyjusticecenter@co.pierce.wa.us
Korean Women’s Association Tacoma. Office and crisis line: 253-535-4202
YWCA of Tacoma/Pierce County in Tacoma. Office: 253-272-4181; Crisis line: 253-383-2593
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