The Daily Times

It starts with a frantic phone call to 911.

Officers rush to the scene of what is one of the most potentially dangerous situations they will ever face: domestic violence.

It’s a scene played out every minute of every day across this country. This month, designated as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, is so named to sound an alarm over a problem that seems to have gotten worse in the past decade. There are some who don’t need any statistics to prove it.

Living on the edge

Caroline (not her real name) is still recovering from an assault by her live-in boyfriend months ago. She lived with him for years, but on a recent day she won’t soon forget, his only intention was to kill her.

“I was taken to the hospital by ambulance,” she said, describing the injuries that still give her problems today. Beyond the pain was the fear of what she would do next, in a town with no family to pick her up.

Caroline said she didn’t know there was anyone out there who could truly help her. She soon found out how wrong she was.

To begin with, each of the three law enforcement entities in Blount County has its own domestic violence liaison, someone who tracks each case of domestic violence in their jurisdictions.

For the Blount County Sheriff’s Office, that person is Jennifer Shudan. Over at the Maryville Police Department, Debbie Yarnell has been the officer overseeing domestic violence cases for the past three years. Alcoa Police Department relies on Keith Fletcher to help navigate the maze of investigations and court filings that come about between abused and abuser.

Behind closed doors

“Domestic violence isn’t just something that happens between a husband and wife,” explained Yarnell. “Cases involve boyfriend and girlfriend, same-sex relationships, mothers and daughters, those who share a house or have dated,” she said. “We’ve even had a couple of teen dating incidents.”

Once an officer has been dispatched to a home, the two people are immediately separated. The officer will check for injuries, tend to any children who are in the home and preserve the evidence, including taking photographs of any injuries. Yarnell said in eight out of 10 cases, the offenders are male.

And chances are the victim has been abused many times before the first call is made to police, Shudan said. In addition to her work with the Sheriff’s Office, Shudan is also chairwoman for the Blount County Task Force Against Domestic Violence. Several agencies in this community participate, including Blount Memorial Hospital, Blount County Children’s Advocacy Center and Sexual Assault Center of East Tennessee. BCSO, MPD and APD are involved as well.

“There is research that shows there is an average of four to five incidents of abuse that occurs before the victim calls for law enforcement assistance,” she said. “It further shows that there can be up to 10 reports before the victim leaves the abusive relationship.”

The abusers will try to protect themselves by inflicting wounds that are covered by clothing. It probably starts out as just verbal abuse, and then maybe a slap, Yarnell said. “If it gets to the point where the offender doesn’t care if she goes to work with a black eye or a busted lip, that is when it changes. If he doesn’t care if anybody sees it, he doesn’t care if he kills her.”

By the numbers

Yarnell said she handles between 25 and 30 cases of domestic violence each month within the city of Maryville. “That means there are probably 50 that go unreported.”

Shudan said the Sheriff’s Office handles about 500 cases per year. From January of this year through Oct. 1, Shudan has been assigned 411 cases. She said in that same period, there have been 513 reports — that includes domestic violence, violations of orders of protection and violations of bail bond restrictions.

The Alcoa Police Department had 173 domestic violence reports filed in 2010 and about 70 domestic-related arrests, Fletcher said, with a majority of the offenders being male.

He has worked with domestic violence cases since 2004. But this patrol sergeant has more to draw from than on-the-job training. He was a victim of abuse himself as a young boy. His mom was married to an abuser for seven years. She left him after Fletcher said he stood poised one day with a baseball bat, ready to take him out.

Tennessee seems to be in the wrong spotlight when it comes to domestic violence issues. According to the Violence Policy Center, Tennessee has consistently ranked in the top 10 most dangerous places for women. In an annual report entitled “When Men Murder Women,” Tennessee was ranked as the fifth most dangerous state in 2009. “We have also ranked high in the number of murder-suicides,” Shudan said.

Diffusing the situation

When the police are called to the scene and a report is made, the offender can be arrested and will be held in jail for a mandatory 12 hours, Yarnell said. That gives the victim time to get an order of protection or pack her things and leave.

But these officers who are sworn to protect know that in a majority of cases, the victim refuses to press charges and goes back into that volatile situation. Sometimes they will make what Yarnell calls “practice runs,” leaving and staying gone a little longer each time.

“What people don’t understand, and even some police officers don’t understand, is these victims don’t want to be hit or hurt,” Fletcher explained. “They love that person. There is an emotional bond there. They don’t want to give up.”

Yarnell also makes no judgments, no matter how many times she sees the same victims. “I try to tell people, ‘Put yourself in her shoes,’” Yarnell said. “She is probably isolated from her family and friends. She doesn’t have a job or a car and probably two or three kids. She will take that abuse in order to provide a roof over her kids and food in their stomachs and clothes on their backs. She figures her wounds will heal.”

The bigger picture

Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. As the judge overseeing all cases of domestic violence that are heard in Blount County, Judge Robert Headrick has seen some violent acts come before him, including murder.

His domestic violence court is held every Thursday, and he is there sometimes until 10 p.m. seeing that all get their day in court. He will deal with 40 to 45 orders of protection in one day alone.

“In Tennessee it is mandated that there be a domestic violence court,” Headrick explained. “There is one judge, one prosecutor and one public defender at least, devoted to issues of domestic violence so things don’t fall through the cracks.”

There are so many underlying issues when it comes to domestic violence, this judge knows. In many cases, there is substance abuse. Child abuse is common in the abusive homes as well.

Who can still find redeeming qualities in humanity after seeing cases like these unfold every week?

Headrick, Fletcher, Yarnell and Shudan can because they realize the jobs they perform are part of the solution.

One thing that will make a difference, Headrick said, is education. Teaching young people the early warning signs of abuse and also getting help for victims are responsibilities each takes seriously.

“This is what will break the cycle,” Headrick said.

Yarnell admits it’s hard not to take her work home. She said she looks at her job as a calling, one she feels privileged to have. She goes beyond what’s required, meeting with victims, accompanying them to court and getting help from a vast network of people in the community who want to be part of this healing process.

“This doesn’t go away at the end of a shift,” Yarnell said. “There is a difference between empathy and sympathy.”

Where to go from here

Today, Caroline is in a safe place, has made friends where before a controlling boyfriend forbade it. “I had a car but he wouldn’t let me go anywhere,” she said. “I probably drove it six or seven times in three years.”

Haven House, a domestic violence shelter here in Blount County, took in Caroline right from the hospital. She said she considers those women her angels. She has her voice back and is using it to help other women like her regain their self-worth and a whole lot more.

Next year, this nonprofit emergency shelter will be celebrating its 30th year in the community. It relies on government grants and private funding to survive. Domestic violence, said Haven House Chief Executive Officer Valerie Day, is a community issue that one can’t ignore. She said the anniversary will be a way for the shelter to shout its message loud and clear in 2012.

“Leaders in the community have to stand up and say ‘I don’t condone domestic violence and I will not look the over way,’” she said. “This has to be far-reaching.”

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