Domestic Violence

State: From July 2009 to June 2010, 38 people were killed in domestic violence incidents in Maryland, including seven in Anne Arundel County, two in Prince George's County, two in Montgomery County, and one in Howard County. Eighteen of the 38 were females: 10 were killed by boyfriends, seven by ex-boyfriends and one by a relative. Eighteen of the 38 were males: Five were killed by an intimate partner or ex-girlfriend; five committed suicide after killing or attempting to murder a girlfriend; three were killed by wives or ex-wives; two were killed by police after murdering or attempting to murder a girlfriend; one was killed by a girlfriend; one was killed by an ex-girlfriend; one was killed by a relative.

After learning that Topeka, Kan., District Attorney Chad Taylor planned to stop prosecuting misdemeanor domestic violence cases in response to county budget cuts, the Topeka City Council this month repealed its misdemeanor domestic violence statute - effectively decriminalizing some domestic violence offenses in Topeka. Abuse survivor Claudine Dombrowski responded to the city's action by hurling a pair of dice at the City Council, arguing that they were rolling the dice with women's lives.

Baltimore police are expanding a program aimed at curbing domestic violence, thanks to a $750,000 federal grant, officials said Monday. The grant will allow a pilot program, called the Domestic Violence Reduction Initiative, in three police districts - Northeastern, Northern and Southern - to be expanded to include the entire city, said Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. "It's a problem that can't be solved by City Hall alone," she said. The grant would also provide overtime pay for the police department's Family Crimes Unit, which serves warrants and high priority protective orders and meets with victims at their homes.

As the application deadline loomed for vendors who want to participate in a fundraising event in Bel Air next month, Hazel U. Hopkins fretted that a favorite caterer might have forgotten to sign up. So she drove an application to the business in Kingsville, waited for the owner to fill it out and then returned it to the offices of SARC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending domestic violence, in Bel Air. That kind of go-the-extra-mile determination...

Susan Reimer highlights several positive steps that insurance companies are taking (with a nudge from the federal government) to enhance the physical and emotional well-being of women in this country ("Big step forward for women's health," Aug. 15). Included among the preventative care measures is a mandate that counseling for domestic violence victims be provided without a co-pay or deductible. Yet while this provision is to be applauded, it does not ensure that similar services are available for male victims of domestic violence.

A gunman opened fire on a Baltimore police officer as he stepped out of his patrol car while responding to a domestic violence call Tuesday night, grazing his hip, according to a statement from a city Police Department spokesman. Police spokesman Detective Kevin Brown said the shooting occurred about 11:40 p.m. in the 1100 block of Cooks Lane, near the southern edge of Gwynns Falls Park and about a quarter-mile from Security Boulevard and Forest Park Avenue. The Southwestern District officer, who has been on the force five years, was treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center and released.

What would you do if your spouse punched out your television? What if he (or she) threw a table across the room and it smashed to pieces against the wall in a fit of rage? Even if you weren't touched during this episode of violence and intimidation, aren't you a victim of it? Do you deserve protection? By Maryland's narrow definition of abuse, you may not. It virtually all cases, it will take more than destroyed property, incessant and harassing text messages, or even your abuser coming to your home uninvited to convince a judge that you deserve the protection of the state.

A three-page preliminary audit report on Howard County's Domestic Violence Center gave the nonprofit a clean bill of fiscal health but criticized the organization's former board for its efforts at a background check before hiring the former director. "We have not found any evidence to indicate any irregularities," County Auditor Haskell Arnold said, though the agency will need to carefully monitor its funds to get through the year. Thanks to a $275,000 surplus, the agency is in the black, Arnold said.

A year after college lacrosse player Yeardley Love was killed and her ex-boyfriend was arrested in her death, Baltimore-area high school athletes from private and public schools were told they should intervene if they suspect a friend may be in trouble. Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger told a group of students and coaches at a conference Thursday that it appears that friends had known about fights between Love and her former boyfriend, George Huguely V, but that they didn't go to parents, coaches or police to report the problems.

The Horizon Foundation is giving a $95,000 grant to the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County to help the nonprofit agency continue a transition after several months of turmoil. County Executive Ken Ulman announced the gift Thursday, just days after Inga James was named the group's new interim director. The Domestic Violence Center replaced its entire board and director last month, and Ulman is awaiting the results of a county audit. "DVC has experienced a number of challenges over the past year, but the Horizon Foundation award represents a crucial step in restoring the county's and the community's confidence in this organization," Ulman said in a prepared statement.