Lane and Patty Judson

Lane & Patty Judson's daughter Crystal was fatally shot by the husband she was divorcing - Tacoma Washington's Police Chief David Brame - one day after city officials publicly announced that her claims of abuse and threats would not be investigated. It was a very public murder-suicide, executed in a shopping center parking lot with their 2 young children running to them. Chief Brame died that day but Crystal lingered. All of us here in Tacoma held our breath praying for what couldn't be. She had taken a contact headshot with a police-issue glock. Her family stayed with her in the hospital for that week before she died, and it was during that time Lane was given the time to whisper to his daughter... Please take time to visit their website: http://www.lanejudson.com/index.htm

Lane and Patty Judson have been helping victims in other states fight for legislation involving Officer Domestic Violence. They have agreed to help us reach out to lawmakers in Louisiana. God Bless them!

Thank you Lane and Patty!

The Impact of Police-Perpetrated Domestic Violence- Diane Wetendorf

The Impact of Police-Perpetrated Domestic Violence

Here is a link to Diane's site: http://www.abuseofpower.info/Article_FBI.htm

"Many of the same qualities valued in on-duty police officers can make those same officers dangerous perpetrators of domestic violence. All abusers employ similar methods to control and abuse their intimate partners. Officers however, have an arsenal of skills and tactics not commonly possessed by civilians. Professional training in the use of force and weapons, intimidation, interrogation and surveillance techniques along with the cultural climate coalesce into a dangerous and potentially lethal combination in a domestic situation. Victims face the bias of law enforcement agencies and the legal system, psychological intimidation, and high risk of lethality."

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office Domestic Violence Division

At least some parishes take Domestic Violence seriously and have specialized programs in place to handle those issues.

http://www.stpso.org/domesticviolence.html

This should be used as a model for all sheriff's offices in Louisiana.

St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office receives $157, 941 Grant

May 22, 2009

http://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm?md=newsroom&tmp=detail&articleID=1253

Governor Bobby Jindal Announces $20 Million in Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice Grants.

"Governor Jindal said, “We’re committed to providing our law enforcement officers and public safety agencies with the resources they need to keep our families safe. These grants will help ensure that our entire criminal justice system has the capacity to keep our citizens protected.”
The Governor said that the 150 grants, which total $20,298,329, are being awarded in the form of Byrne/JAG Grants and Crime Victim Assistance Grants. Byrne/JAG Grants and Crime Victim Assistance Grants are allocated to entities within the state using federal dollars. On Thursday, the LCLE voted for and approved the allocation of these grants."

"The St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office: $157,941 grant"

Now, let's see them put the grant money to good use by implementing policies for victims of crime at the hands of law enforcement officers in their own organization.

Child custody in Domestic Violence Situations

This site, http://www.childcustody.org/childcustodyorgdiscussion/viewtopic.php?t=1978, has some very interesting posts. It should give victims of Domestic Violence something to think about if there are minor children involved when the violence occurred. As noted by at least one poster, her abuser plead down from Domestic Violence to Disturbing the Peace. As a result, the mother ended up going through a child custody battle and didn't have the necessary convictions to prove that the abusive parent shouldn't have custody. This post is not intended in any way to be legal advice for anyone. It's just something I thought I would mention. Once a relationship becomes violent, rarely does the violence stop. It typically escalates and the relationship becomes more dangerous over time.

Domestic Violence Arrest Policies by State

In Louisiana, Officers are required by law to arrest someone accused of domestic violence when the battery is aggravated or second degree, or when danger to the victim exists where assault or simple battery occurred. Don't always count on that if the abuser is a cop!

Domestic Violence Arrest Policies by State 11/07
Prepared by the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence http://www.abanet.org/domviol
The law is constantly changing! Please independently confirm the data you find here.
We are always grateful to receive corrections and updates at abacdvta@abanet.org
State
DV Arrest Policy Relevant Statute
Alabama Officer’s Discretion Ala. Code 1975 § 15-10-3 (A)(8)
Alaska Mandatory Arrest Alaska Stat. § 18.65.530 (A)
Arizona Mandatory Arrest Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-3601 (B)
Arkansas Pro-Arrest Ark. Code Ann. § 16-81-113 (A)(1)(A)
California Pro-Arrest Cal. Penal Code § 836 (D)
Colorado Mandatory Arrest Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-6-803.6
Connecticut Mandatory Arrest Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 46b-38b (A)
Delaware Officer's Discretion? Del. Code Ann. Tit 11 § 1904 (reasonable grounds)
DC Mandatory Arrest D.C. Code Ann. § 16-1031
Florida Pro-Arrest Fla. Stat. Ann. § 741.29 (4)(B)
Georgia Officer's Discretion Ga. Code Ann., § 17-4-20 (A)
Hawaii Officer's Discretion? HI St § 803-5 (broad statute)
Idaho Officer's Discretion I.C. § 19-603
Illinois Officer's Discretion 750 IlCS 60/301
Indiana Officer's Discretion IC 35-33-1-1 (1)(A)(5)(B)
Iowa Mandatory Arrest Iowa Code Ann. §§ 236.12 (2); 804.7 (5)
Kansas Mandatory Arrest Kan. Stat. Ann. § 22-2307 (B)(1)
Kentucky Officer's Discretion KRS § 403.785 (2)
Louisiana Mandatory Arrest
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 46-2140 (1)(aggravated or second degree battery),
(2)(danger to victim exists where assault or simple battery occurred)
Maine Mandatory Arrest Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. Tit 19-A § 4012 (5)
Maryland Officer's Discretion Md. Crim. Proc. § 12-204 (A)(1)(I), (Ii)
Massachusetts Pro-Arrest Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. Ch. 209a § 6
Michigan Pro-Arrest Mich. Stat. Ann. §§ 28.874 (1), 28.1274(3)
Minnesota Officer's Discretion Minn. Stat. Ann. § 609.341
Mississippi Mandatory Arrest Miss. Code Ann. § 99-3-7 (3)
Missouri Officer's Discretion V.A.M.S. 455.085
Montana Pro-Arrest
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 455.085.1 (requiring arrest for a second domestic violence
incident within 12 hours); Mont. Code Ann. § 46-6-311 (2)(A)
Nebraska Officer's Discretion NE St § 29-404.02 (1)
Nevada Mandatory Arrest Nev. Rev. Stat. § 171.137
New
Hampshire
Officer's Discretion?
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 594:10 (I)(B); N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 173-B:9 (is
ambiguous in directing that an officer “should” arrest the primary aggressor in
the context of a discretionary arrest directive for domestic violence generally)
New Jersey Mandatory Arrest?
N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2c:25-21(mandates warrantless arrest only where injury
resulted or weapon was used; may, in practice, be applied only in felony-level
assaults)
New Mexico Officer's Discretion N.M.S.A. 1978, § 31-1-7 (A)
New York Mandatory Arrest N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 140.10 (4)(C)
North Carolina Officer's Discretion N.C.G.S.A. § 15a-401
North Dakota Pro-Arrest
N.D. Cent. Code § 14-07.1-11 (2); N.D. Cent. Code § 14-07.1-10 (setting forth
presumptive arrest policy)
Ohio Mandatory Arrest?
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2935.032 (A)(1)(A); Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2935.03
(B)(3)(B) (provides for a preferred arrest policy when there is “reasonable
grounds” to arrest; however, when there is probable cause to arrest, arrest is
mandatory)
Domestic Violence Arrest Policies by State 11/07
Prepared by the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence http://www.abanet.org/domviol
The law is constantly changing! Please independently confirm the data you find here.
We are always grateful to receive corrections and updates at abacdvta@abanet.org
State
DV Arrest Policy Relevant Statute
Oklahoma Officer's Discretion Okla. Stat. Tit. 22 § 40.3
Oregon Mandatory Arrest Or. Rev. Stat. § 133.055 (2)(A)
Pennsylvania Officer's Discretion 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 2711
Rhode Island Mandatory Arrest R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-29-3
South Carolina Mandatory Arrest S.C. Code Ann. § 16-25-70
South Dakota Mandatory Arrest S.D. Codified Laws Ann. §§ 23a-3-2.1
Tennessee Pro-Arrest Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-619
Texas Officer's Discretion Vernon's Ann.Texas C.C.P. Art. 14.03 (A)(4)
Utah Mandatory Arrest Utah Code Ann. § 77-36-2.2
Vermont Officer's Discretion VT RCRP Rule 3
Virginia Mandatory Arrest?
Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-81.3(authorizes officer discretion to determine whether
“special circumstances” exist that dictate alternatives to arrest be used)
Washington Mandatory Arrest Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §10.31.100 (2)
West Virginia Officer's Discretion W. Va. Code, § 48-27-1002
Wisconsin Pro-Arrest Wis. Stat. Ann. § 968.075(3)
Wyoming Officer's Discretion Wyo. Stat. § 7-20-102