When Connecticut residents come across stories of spousal or domestic abuse, many assume that the abuser is a man and the victim a woman. Some cases of domestic abuse are, in fact, perpetrated by women; at least 2 percent. When a man in another state called police last year, claiming allegations of domestic violence, police officers assumed the same thing.
Two police officers were placed on a 10-day suspension after refusing to heed a man’s claim that he was the victim in a physical altercation with his girlfriend. The man called police for help and upon the arrival of the officers, they issued both the male victim and the female perpetrator tickets for fighting. The officers also claimed the man instigated the incident. When the victim tried to show the two officers the video of the assault that he had recorded on his phone, both officers declined to view it.
The video, which was later reviewed by the police’s department of Internal Affairs, showed the man asking the woman in a calm manner to leave his apartment. She began to hit him and when he asked her why, she told the man that she was angry at him. The repeated blows by the woman caused the victim to ask the officers to call Emergency Medical Services to have his injuries assessed, but both officers refused. The man later drove himself to a local emergency room where it was determined by the attending physician that he may have suffered from a mild concussion.
Allegations of domestic violence are serious and should be taken seriously by authorities, whether those claims are made by a male or a female. Should a Connecticut resident find themselves in a situation where domestic abuse is or has occurred, seeking the help of an attorney can help the victim to pursue a restraining order and, if the case necessitates, a divorce. When authorities mishandle the case, an attorney can help set matters right.
Source: ksat.com, “2 SAPD officers suspended for not taking man’s claims of assault seriously”, Tim Gerber, Sept. 14, 2017