When the Abuser is in Law Enforcement

When a domestic violence incident involves another officer, the police officers who respond may protect the abuser. However, there are certain things you can do that may help you get an appropriate police response, such as the following:

• Insist that a supervisor be called to the scene. Many departments have rules saying this is supposed to happen.
• Try to get the police report number and the names and badge numbers of responding officers.
• Write down everything you remember about what happened as soon as you can while the details are still fresh in your mind in case you need to refer to it later. Include:
  
  • what everyone said and did;
  • any threats, physical attacks, and property damage;
  • any injuries, what caused them, and how bad they were;
  • what the police said and did when they were there; and
  • the date and time of the incident.
• Take photos of your bruises or other injuries even if the police or doctors already took some. Take more photos a few days later, because bruises can get darker. When you take the photos, make sure to take some that show your face so it’s clear that these are your injuries. Make sure that the photos are dated with the correct date. If you are using a camera that doesn’t show the date, you may want to hold that day’s newspaper showing the date in one of the photos.
• Take photos of the scene showing:
  
  • any damaged furniture;
  • broken doors; or
  • damage to the car or any other property.
• Keep your notes, photos, and other proof in a safe place where the abuser can’t find them. For example, you could keep them in a locked cabinet in an advocate’s office, a safe deposit box, or with your lawyer.¹

 ¹ Adapted from Wetendorf, D., Your options, abuseofpower.info