Blogging Blue » Domestic Violence

MPD officers allowed to stay on force despite domestic violence incidents, convictions

Zach W — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:40:18 +0000

When Robert Velez’s wife left their home to escape his abuse, he used his Milwaukee police training – and his badge – to track her down.

First, Velez connected his missing wife to the Exel Inn hotel chain. He initially showed his badge at the Wauwatosa location, according to court and internal affairs records. Lying to the clerk, Velez said he was working undercover, looking for a suspect.

The woman wasn’t checked in there, but the clerk located her in Oak Creek. She had alerted staff that her abusive husband – a cop – might come looking for her.

Nonetheless, the hotel desk clerk led Velez to his wife’s room, knocked on the door, and told her to open it. If she didn’t, the clerk said, he would use the master key.

She did.

Velez shoved past her into the room, where he found one of his fellow officers – whom he and his wife had known for about three years. Velez immediately began beating the man, telling him: “I’ll break your f—ing neck! I’m going to kill you!”

When his wife tried to break up the fight, Velez punched her in the face. He put the man in a headlock and dragged him down the stairs, the records say.

When Oak Creek officers arrived, Velez also fought with them. He repeated the lie about working undercover a third time and pulled back his black leather jacket to show the gun in his waistband, according to a summary of the internal investigation.

According to the report by Gina Barton of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, Robert Velez was arrested for battery while armed, domestic violence battery and misconduct in public office as a result of his actions towards his wife and fellow officers in 2001, and those charges could have seen Velez sent to prison for 5 ½ years in addition to being barred from possessing a gun for the rest of his life.

Instead of being convicted of those charges, Velez was suspended from the Milwaukee Police Department for just six days, and Velez is one of at least 16 Milwaukee police officers disciplined after internal investigators concluded they had committed acts of domestic violence. What’s more, leadership within the Milwaukee Police Department leaders doesn’t follow national standards on how to handle accusations of domestic violence against officers. What’s more, Milwaukee Police Officers accused of domestic violence crimes are often with lesser crimes, if they’re actually charged with a crime at all.

The result of officers being protected? Those same officers who have abused their spouses or romantic partners are allowed to keep their jobs, carry loaded weapons and respond when women being battered by their spouses or romantic partners call for help.

Will Alberta Darling give back campaign contributions she received from alleged domestic violence offender?

Zach W — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:22:20 +0000

By now you may have heard the tragic story of Charles McNeer, the retired chairman and CEO of Wisconsin Energy Corporation, who was charged last week with attempting to kill his wife, Ann, at their Erin residence in late June. According to a criminal complaint filed in Washington County, McNeer allegedly struck his wife on the back of her head with a hammer before attempting to kill himself. The criminal complaint goes on to note McNeer told a relative he attempted to kill his wife with the hammer because his health was failing and he did not think that she could live without him.

While Charles McNeer’s criminal case has a long way to go before his guilt or innocence is determined, it’s worth noting that as recently as May 3, 2011 McNeer donated $500 to the recall election campaign of Republican State Senator Alberta Darling (pictured, left), according to campaign finance reports. McNeer’s $500 donation to Sen. Darling is just one of at least five donations McNeer has made to Sen. Darling over the years, with McNeer having given over $1,000 to Sen. Darling’s campaigns.

So here’s what I’m wondering…will Sen. Alberta Darling give back the campaign contribution she received from Charles McNeer in May of this year, given McNeer’s current legal predicament? Personally, I’d like to see Sen. Darling send a strong message that she doesn’t condone domestic violence by donating the $500 she received from Charles McNeer to a worthwhile organization working to put an end to domestic violence – someplace like the Alma Center comes to mind.

So what do you think…will Sen. Darling do the right thing?

David VanderLeest’s victim speaks out

Zach W — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:54:39 +0000

From the fine folks over at PolitiScoop comes yet another breaking news story regarding Republican State Senate candidate David VanderLeest, the lone Republican challenger to incumbent Democratic State Senator Dave Hansen, who is facing a recall election next week.

Here’s a snippet from PolitiScoop’s interview with Rachel Gerritsen, VanderLeest’s ex-wife and the victim of his multiple domestic violence-related convictions (emphasis mine).

Today I had the opportunity to speak to Rachel Gerritsen, the former wife of David VanderLeest. VanderLeest is challenging Senator Dave Hansen in the 30th district recall election. I spoke to Rachel by phone and you can listen to the audio of the interview here. Below you can read the transcript. Rachel states that she is still living in fear of VanderLeest. Despite this Rachel was brave enough to set the record right by telling her side of the story.

Significant information came to light in this interview. Rachel countered the claim made by VanderLeest in many press statements that she willingly and freely recanted the domestic violence statement included in the police records. Rachel claims that VanderLeest wrote the statements and she signed them “to get back to my son”. Although Rachel didn’t directly say, if you listen to her words carefully, it appears her son has been used as a pawn in an abusive game that VanderLeest has been playing for years.

Rachel also spoke of VanderLeest’s inability to handle his own finances, his inability to pay his taxes or to provide adequately for her son by buying him basics like shoes or even by providing a stove in his apartment so he is able to cook his son dinner.

Go read the rest of the interview….you won’t be disappointed!

The real David Rivera

Zach W — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:28:58 +0000

It’s likely you’ve never heard of David Rivera, and I couldn’t blame you. After all, Rivera, a Republican, is running for the House seat representing Florida’s 25th Congressional District. However, as Down With Tyranny! points out, what’s really interesting about David Rivera is that he’s the anointed candidate for Repbulicans, despite Rivera being charged with repeated acts of domestic violence against the same woman. Rivera’s issues relating to him being charged with repeated acts of domestic violence were not unknown in Florida’s political circles, as the issue was brought up in 2002 when Rivera was running for the Florida House of Representatives.

It’s worth noting David Rivera is being publicly supported in his House race by tea party darling Marco Rubio, as well as former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, however I can’t help but wonder if either will continue to be vocal in their support of Rivera now that his history as a repeat domestic violence offender has been brought to light.

At any rate, I guess this just proves how little vetting actually takes place of candidates for elected office, either by the two parties or the media.

Friday news and notes

Zach W — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:20:28 +0000

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that despite his nomination being returned to President Obama, Louis Butler’s name will be resubmitted as the president’s nominee to fill a spot on the federal bench in Wisconsin’s Western District.
President Obama is set to meet with union leaders in the next few days in order to address their opposition to a proposed tax on high-cost health care plans, the type of plans many union members have.
John Farren, a former deputy assistant to the president and deputy counsel to the president in the George W. Bush administration, has been arrested and charged with attempting to kill his wife. Farren has been charged with Criminal Attempt at Murder and Strangulation 1st degree and is being held on a $2 million bond.
Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman’s approval rating is down to a dismal 25%, with a 67% disapproval rating. Those are numbers that certainly don’t bode well for Sen. Lieberman, even if he’s not up for reelection until 2012.
While Cudahy has an abundance of candidates running for mayor in 2010, the same can’t be said for the two spots on the South Milwaukee school board, where only one candidate has filed for the two seats up for election. Considering the important work local school boards do, I can only hope someone or (several someones) will step forward and run for the second seat up for election, even if it requires a write-in campaign.

Domestic violence-related homicides up in 2009

Zach W — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:59:16 +0000

Despite good news out of Milwaukee that the number of homicides in that city is hovering near a 20-year low, statewide the number of domestic violence homicides may hit a 10-year high:

There were 36 domestic violence homicides in 2008. Preliminary data indicate that there were at least 46 domestic violence incidents resulting in 59 deaths in 2009. In addition, although statewide data for 2009 are not yet available, local domestic abuse victim programs report unprecedented numbers of requests from victims desperately seeking shelter and other services.

As someone who works with perpetrators and victims of domestic violence on a daily basis, these numbers are sobering, and they’re a reminder that for all the progress that’s been made when it comes to eradicating domestic violence, there’s still a lot of work left to be done.

In response to the statistics cited by the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV), State Rep. Rich Zipperer of Pewaukee is pushing for the passage of Assembly Bill 263, legislation he authored along with Senator Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) to combat
domestic violence in Wisconsin. The bill, which is also known as Cindy’s Law, would grant judges the authority to order GPS tracking on dangerous repeat offenders for whom alternative incarceration is not available. The GPS device would alert law enforcement and the potential victim if an offender enters a prohibited area, such as the victim’s workplace or home neighborhood According to Rep. Zipperer’s press release, the GPS monitoring would be funded by the offenders, as well as a fee placed on all domestic abusers, making the bill cost-neutral to taxpayers.

I think GPS tracking for certain repeat domestic violence offenders is a great idea, and it’s one I’ve been hoping would be put into place, however I can’t help but question the assertion that a GPS monitoring bill will be cost-neutral. It’s naive to think the all the offenders who would be placed on GPS would be able – or willing – to pay the fees associated with GPS monitoring, especially considering GPS monitoring costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $9 per day. While I think Rep. Zipperer’s legislation certainly is worthwhile, I have serious doubts that it would be cost-neutral to taxpayers, making it vulnerable to budget-year wrangling, just as GPS monitoring for certain sex offenders was a few years ago.

A “memorial shoot” to honor a victim of gun violence?

Zach W — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:56:16 +0000

Q. What’s the best way to memorialize a victim of deadly gun violence, and what’s the best way to raise money for orphans of a horrific murder-suicide involving a 9 mm handgun and a shotgun?

A. Why, get the whole gang together down at the gun store and shoot off a bunch of guns, of course!

Let’s not forget Meleanie Hain was shot and killed by her husband in an act of domestic violence.

Oh, did I mention October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month?

Here’s the money quote from the column I linked to:

If you read the entries on the forum where Meleanie Hain was active, you’ll see that the “PA Patriots” refuse (or are unable… unwilling… or scared to…) acknowledge:

… the irony of holding a memorial shoot for the orphans of two shooting victims

… the irony of a mother being killed by that which she professed would keep her safe

… the fact that those who were afraid of the potential of gun violence were, in this case, correct

… that in a country where more than half of all marriages end in divorce, homes stocked with loaded weapons are a seriously hazardous to the health of the entire family.

What’s truly scary is that the PA gun-toting patriots have really learned nothing – and will learn nothing – from the death of their friend. They will simply demonize the distraught husband (“burn in hell” is their online refrain), feel like they are caring and compassionate by donating the hot dog and hamburger proceeds to the orphans, and then stock up on guns and ammo at Heberling’s Gun Shop to bring home to their happy households.

Until the next one qualifies for their very own memorial shoot.

Eight states consider domestic violence a “pre-existing condition

Zach W — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:11:38 +0000

In eight states (Idaho, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming), women who survived domestic violence can be denied health insurance coverage on the grounds that domestic violence is a pre-existing condition. I’ve written about the notion of domestic violence as a pre-existing condition, and I think it’s an absolutely reprehensible practice that only serves to revictimize women who in many cases have endured prolonged physical and mental abuse at the hands of their perpetrators.

Democrats in Congress are vowing to ban the practice as a part of the health care reform legislation working its way through Congress, but at least one Republican thinks the eight states should be left alone to allow victims of domestic abuse to be denied health insurance coverage:

One Republican opposed to the amendment, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, argued that it’s “deplorable to deny coverage to victims of domestic violence. However, states should be responsible for regulating insurance markets.”

Yeah, I’m thinking sometimes doing what’s right supercedes the states rights argument, but then again, I’d rather be on the side of victims of domestic violence than insurance companies that are reaping billions upon billions of dollars in profits every year.

In Brief: DV deaths on the rise, T. Wall breaks contribution laws

Zach W — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:36:51 +0000

According to a report released yesterday, 2009 is on pace to be among the deadliest years this decade for domestic violence deaths. The annual report issued by the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence indicated thirty people died in domestic violence incidents statewide from January 2009 to July 2009, putting the state on pace to exceed the total of 46 people who died in domestic violence incidents in Wisconsin in 2008. The 46 domestic-violence related deaths in 2008 was five fewer than in 2007, according to the annual report, and it’s important to note the report includes in its totals people who committed suicide after killing another person in a domestic violence incident. In 2008, 10 of the 46 people who died in domestic violence incidents committed suicide.
After seeing a decline in the number of domestic-violence related deaths, it’s more than a little disturbing to see that number on the rise again. While it’s been speculated the economy may be in part to blame for the increased number of domestic violence-related deaths, I believe the economy is just one of many factors that has contributed to the increased number of deaths.
According to a report published by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Madison-area developer Terrence Wall violated the annual $10,000 limit on campaign contributions to state political candidates and committees in 2005. According to the report, in 2005 Wall contributed $10,605 to five Republican candidates for statewide office and the legislature, as well as Democratic attorney general candidate Kathleen Falk.
Politico.com is reporting the United States Secret Service is investigating a poll created on Facebook asking users if they supported killing the president. The poll, titled “Should Obama be killed?”, offered users three possible answers: “Yes,” “Maybe, if he cuts my health care” and “No.” The poll – and the third-party application used to create it – were removed from Facebook Monday, shortly after Facebook officials were made aware of the poll by the Secret Service.

Law Enforcement and Arrests in Wisconsin

MadCityMan — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:42:50 +0000

The FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division recently released statistics on crime and law enforcement for 2008. The reports offer a fascinating snapshot of crime and law enforcement variations by state.

You can download both sets of the complete United States statistics from the FBI website. The complete crime data is available for download here. The crime statistics are supposedly based on Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) for 29 categories of crime from the most heinous to lesser crimes. The complete law enforcement data is available for download here.

Here’s what I found:

I was curious to see where Wisconsin stood relative to other states, so I downloaded the files in Excel and performed some sorting and ranking. I was surprised to find how poorly we ranked when it came to our total arrest statistics vs. other states. I expected to find that certain poor red states would rank higher than their population percentage, but didn’t expect to see this with Wisconsin.

However, as I got to thinking about it, the statistics could also reflect several factors – better reporting than other states, greater likelihood of arrests (note the state is #1 in disorderly conduct crimes), possible misinformation entered and reported to or by the FBI, inconsistent reporting based upon state classifications of crime (even with the UCR), a more efficient law enforcement and legal system, data reported in 2008 for crimes that occurred prior to last year, data inconsistency (see the population data below for an example of this) and a myriad of other factors.

According to the FBI, the data reflected under-reporting for states like IL, which for some reason only reported arrests in Rockford and Chicago, leaving a vast geographic area of the state without any arrests reported. They also caution against comparing the data due to “variations in arrest practices.”

With the exception of our ranking by the number of female officers at 15^th highest and ranking of 22^nd for other assaults; the law enforcement and crime statistics do not paint a promising picture of our beautiful state.

Population Statistics

19^th largest state (5,607,356 in the Excel Spread Sheet; 5,627,967 on the FBI web site)

Law Enforcement Statistics

19^th largest total law enforcement team (civilians and uniformed officers)
19^th largest # male officers
15^th largest # female officers
14^th largest # of police agencies

Crime

1^st highest disorderly conduct
5^th highest forcible rape
6^th highest crime all classes
6^th highest arson
6^th highest DUI
7^th highest larceny theft
8^th highest property crime
12^th highest forgery & counterfeiting
14^th highest motor vehicle theft
17^th highest drug abuse
18^th highest violent crime
18^th highest murder
18^th highest aggravated assault
19^th highest robbery
22^nd highest other assaults

If you’d like to dig deeper into this data, you can do so by reviewing the State of Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance that has published a 283 page report on arrests in Wisconsin under the UCR that is available for download here.

Their data places the arrest statistics into 5 major buckets – violent crime, property crimes, drug crimes, society crimes and other crimes. The OJA reports the following trends (both positive and negative)

Society crimes – 172,128, down 3% from 2007
Drug crimes – 25,314, down 2% from 2007
Violent crimes – 8,133, down 1% from 2007
Property crimes – 63,596, up .3% from 2007
Other – 146,372, down 2% from 2007

While the decreases paint a slightly better picture then the absolute number of crimes, overall this data should be troublesome for all of us in the state. I was curious to look at two counties that I have connections to – Dane and Milwaukee to see what their police departments were reporting. Here’s the data for each of these counties.