Violence Cases

In the messy world of domestic violence cases, often complicated by a lover's willingness to forgive, this one had a promising twist for prosecutors: Though the woman refused to testify against her boyfriend, a police officer said she had witnessed the attack in a Laurel gas station parking lot. But Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Paul Harris, in a decision that has victims' rights advocates crying foul, acquitted the man charged with second-degree assault...

Stephen Bailey, chief of the family violence unit in the Baltimore County state's attorney's office, had a problem.A woman had come forward to say that the gunshot wound that left her face half-paralyzed was not an accident, as she had originally told investigators. It was an attack by her boyfriend. But the woman balked at testifying, making chances of a conviction on state assault charges iffy at best.But a review of court records revealed that at the time of the shooting, the boyfriend had been convicted on drug distribution charges.

The Carroll County state's attorney's domestic violence unit may have prevented a homicide last week.Members of the unit -- formed two years ago after three people were killed in domestic violence incidents in Hampstead -- happened to be nearby last week when a woman came to the courthouse seeking help.The man hadn't struck her or their child, but he had stalked and harassed her and burglarized her home, "and there were indicators flying all around" of potentially serious violence, said Gary W. Cofflin, the unit's full-time investigator.

Victims of domestic violence or sexual assaults in Carroll County should soon benefit from a new hospital program that uses nurses trained to examine battered or abused women, preserve forensic evidence and become expert witnesses for the state in prosecuting offenders, authorities say.Five nurses at Carroll County General Hospital have completed training to become a Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE), said Janet Steakin, one of the nurses who has been trained."October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and it's fitting that last October we attended the SAFE training conference, and we are just about ready to begin it here," Steakin said.

A women's advocacy group has filed a complaint with a state judicial committee charging that Howard Circuit Judge James B. Dudley's treatment of a rape victim last fall raises questions about his competency to hear domestic violence cases.The Women's Law Center of Maryland filed the two-page complaint with the Select Committee on Gender Equality, a 21-member committee of judges and lawyers created by the state's top judge to address issues of gender bias within the court system.The complaint, filed late last month, stems from comments Dudley made during the sentencing in November of Chester P. Walker Jr., who was convicted of raping his former girlfriend.

The state has won $2.4 million in new and continuing federal grants to prevent family violence and support domestic violence victims, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend announced yesterday.The grants include $140,626 for the House of Ruth to continue its court advocacy unit for domestic violence victims; $485,355 to train state troopers and local police officers on domestic violence policies and $542,174 for three initiatives in Montgomery County, including a prosecutor to handle domestic violence cases.

Domestic violence is one of the most common calls a police officer can get. But with a frequency that alarms Baltimore police commanders, those paid to protect are also on the attack, charged in sometimes brutal assaults on wives and girlfriends.The Sun has found in a review of abuse cases throughout the region that no department is untouched by criminal complaints of domestic assault and battery.In Baltimore, the number of abuse cases -- at least 45 officers are implicated -- has prompted the department to obtain a federal grant to help figure out why so many are accused of breaking the law.Despite the city's heightened attempt to deal with the problem, few officers have been convicted and thrown off the force -- often because victims refuse to testify or serious charges are plea-bargained down to help an officer keep his job."

A FEW MONTHS ago, I spent an instructive if depressing morning watching the prosecution of domestic violence cases in a local courtroom.I came away somewhat comforted by the fact that prosecutors and police seem to be taking these cases much more seriously than they did in the past.But the number and nature of these cases raise uncomfortable questions about society's tolerance for abusive responses to the stresses and strains of human relationships.From the barbed, verbal put-downs you can hear on almost any television sitcom and in many family conversations, to the free-floating anger that explodes in "road rage," it is obvious that stress is taking a heavy toll on plenty of relationships.

Maryland State Police are seeking federal help to launch two projects, one in Carroll and another serving five Eastern Shore counties, that for the first time would provide a coordinated approach to the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence cases in rural areas.The agency is requesting between $500,000 and $700,000 to hire investigators who would specialize in domestic violence, expand shelters for victims and their children, and train police officers in the most effective ways to respond to domestic violence calls.

THE LATINA housekeeper speaks little English. So when she dials 911, she gives the phone to little Jeffrey.Jeffrey is 7 and he's scared."My daddy's going to hit my mommy," Jeffrey tells the operator. "Please hurry."The cops come, in a hurry, and arrest Daddy. Mommy says Daddy was choking her to the point that she nearly blacked out. There are bruises and scratches on her body. And Daddy, it turns out, has hit Mommy before.What happens?When the case is about to come to trial, Mommy begs the prosecutors not to proceed.

It used to be that officers wrote off domestic killings as a given - unfortunate and often brutal crimes that added numbers to the city's death tally but couldn't be prevented in the traditional way, such as with more police, neighborhood sweeps and arrests. And there wasn't much of a public outcry. People felt bad and were angry, but they didn't feel less safe because the man up the street killed his wife in an upstairs bedroom. A new team of Baltimore police and prosecutors is turning those antiquated theories around.

Howard County Police Chief William J. McMahon has been chosen to join law enforcement leaders from around the nation this week at a national seminar on violence against women. McMahon is one of 23 participants selected to attend the National Law Enforcement Leadership Institute on Violence Against Women, sponsored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The program is a three-day seminar to be held this week in Atlanta, according to the Police Department. The participants will explore approaches to investigating domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and human trafficking crimes.

Artesha Moses called Baltimore police one night last March when her ex-boyfriend punched and kicked her after she refused to give him money for drugs. But the arrest warrant for James Summerville was never served, and three weeks later he was arrested for killing her. Domestic violence calls don't always end so tragically, but police who respond should act as though they might. A professional approach to investigating domestic violence cases can help prevent serious crimes and save lives.

In the messy world of domestic violence cases, often complicated by a lover's willingness to forgive, this one had a promising twist for prosecutors: Though the woman refused to testify against her boyfriend, a police officer said she had witnessed the attack in a Laurel gas station parking lot. But Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Paul Harris, in a decision that has victims' rights advocates crying foul, acquitted the man charged with second-degree assault...

A domestic violence court has opened in Baltimore where battered women can take legal action against their abusers and find support services such as emergency housing and counseling. The new court, the first of its kind in the city, is located at the Eastside District Court Building at 1400 E. North Ave. Before it opened, domestic violence victims filed civil complaints with the District Court Civil Division at 501 E. Fayette St. and traveled to the Eastside court, where criminal cases are processed.

As part of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Baltimore state's attorney's office announced yesterday that it has received funding to expand its domestic violence division as well as a loan of a dozen cellular telephones that will be available for victims' protection. Prosecutors were given $101,780 by the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention, which will help them hire one prosecutor and one victim services worker. The 12 cellular phones are on loan from Verizon for a year and will be given to victims who may need to make emergency calls to police or a women's shelter.

Victims of domestic violence or sexual assaults in Carroll County should soon benefit from a new hospital program that uses nurses trained to examine battered or abused women, preserve forensic evidence and become expert witnesses for the state in prosecuting offenders, authorities say.Five nurses at Carroll County General Hospital have completed training to become a Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE), said Janet Steakin, one of the nurses who has been trained."October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and it's fitting that last October we attended the SAFE training conference, and we are just about ready to begin it here," Steakin said.

The Carroll County state's attorney's domestic violence unit may have prevented a homicide last week.Members of the unit -- formed two years ago after three people were killed in domestic violence incidents in Hampstead -- happened to be nearby last week when a woman came to the courthouse seeking help.The man hadn't struck her or their child, but he had stalked and harassed her and burglarized her home, "and there were indicators flying all around" of potentially serious violence, said Gary W. Cofflin, the unit's full-time investigator.

Stephen Bailey, chief of the family violence unit in the Baltimore County state's attorney's office, had a problem.A woman had come forward to say that the gunshot wound that left her face half-paralyzed was not an accident, as she had originally told investigators. It was an attack by her boyfriend. But the woman balked at testifying, making chances of a conviction on state assault charges iffy at best.But a review of court records revealed that at the time of the shooting, the boyfriend had been convicted on drug distribution charges.

The state has won $2.4 million in new and continuing federal grants to prevent family violence and support domestic violence victims, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend announced yesterday.The grants include $140,626 for the House of Ruth to continue its court advocacy unit for domestic violence victims; $485,355 to train state troopers and local police officers on domestic violence policies and $542,174 for three initiatives in Montgomery County, including a prosecutor to handle domestic violence cases.