By Sergio Chapa, The Brownsville Herald (Brownsville, Texas)
BROWNSVILLE — When police officers respond to a domestic disturbance call, they go out in pairs or sometimes in threes or fours for a reason.
Police and family violence experts said a number of factors — such as drugs, alcohol, a history of violence — make domestic disturbances the most dangerous calls responded to by officers.
Most local agencies require the presence of at least two officers to a domestic disturbance call, but often ask for more officers if a residence has a history of violence.
Following an Oct. 4 incident in which a Harlingen man allegedly set his house and a police officer on fire, many local law enforcement agencies think those long-standing policies are justified.
“It only reaffirms the rules that are already in place,” said Brownsville Detective Sgt. Rolando Avitia. “At any given time, a domestic violence situation can turn on the officer.”
Harlingen police spokesman Johnny Ramirez said alleged abusers in domestic disturbance calls often have a number of advantages over police, adding an extra element of danger.
“It´s a person´s domain; there could be any number of weapons and (an abuser) knows his way around,” he said.
In cases like the officer being set on fire, Ramirez said anger toward the victim is often transferred to police when they arrive.
“They often direct it at us because we´re going to stop whatever that person is doing,” he said.
Family Crisis Center Executive Director Brenda Heredia said other deeper psychological factors might contribute to the danger of the situation.
“There are a lot of emotions. ... It´s primordial, " she said. “A man defends his castle.”
Heredia said victims of family violence often change their minds and sometimes intervene with police when they see their attackers being arrested.
According to statistics from the Texas Department of Public Safety, victims reported 185,299 cases of family violence in 2003.
Of those reports, 9,153 cases were from the Rio Grande Valley, with 3,634 reports from Cameron County.
Brownsville police Sgt. Kurt Hines said family violence calls comprise the majority of crimes-against-persons cases worked by detectives.
Of the 708 crimes-against-persons cases received by Brownsville detectives this year, 536 cases were related to family violence.
Across the state, most of the cases were men committing acts of violence against women.
DPS figures show injuries were recorded in 52 percent of the cases with another 4 percent classified as major injuries.
Under state law, police must remove the offender or the more aggressive of two combatants from the scene of a domestic violence call.
Brownsville police Lt. James Paschall said the Police Department can file charges against an alleged abuser without the consent of the victim, but it is up to the Cameron County district attorney´s office to prosecute without a willing victim to testify.
But whether or not a victim decides to press charges, Paschall said detectives and police try to connect them with services that are available through organizations such as the Brownsville-based Friendship of Women or the Family Crisis Center.
Friendship of Women Executive Director Natalia Zapata said the recent Harlingen incident underscores the need for more awareness of the issues surrounding family violence.
“Unfortunately, it takes incidents like this to bring awareness to the problem,” she said. “Victims need to be aware when they decide to leave that they are in a safe place before taking action.”