Assessing Threats and Lethality Officer/Victim Safety

1. Assessing Threats and Lethality Officer/Victim Safety

2. The FBI reports that between 75% and 90% of all hostage takings in the U.S. are related to domestic violence situations.

3. Why assess for lethality? • Reduces the likelihood of future harm • A more effective management of police power

4. Effective Lethality Assessment • Decide in consultation with other agencies, victims and other service providers • Shared Understanding • Police, Sheriffs, Prosecutors, Courts, Probation/Parole, first responders, advocates, etc.

5. Specialized DV Form - Lethality Delaware Domestic Violence Incident Report

6. Lethality Assessment for First Respondersmnadv.org • The Maryland Network against Domestic Violence has developed the Maryland Domestic Violence Lethality Screen and Protocol for First Responders, which offers practical methods of working with victims to assess and act upon the danger they may face. The MNADV established a statewide Lethality Assessment Committee in Fall 2003, composed of law enforcement officers, a prosecutor, an investigator, a parole and probation agent, domestic violence advocates, and researchers who have done significant work in the area of domestic violence. The committee developed a short screen which is an application of the research of Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell of The Johns Hopkins University, who created the nationally respected domestic violence Danger Assessment, and is a member of the MNADV team. The accompanying protocol developed by the committee is the first of its kind, providing guidance on what to do when someone is assessed to be in high danger.

7. Pleasanton, Texas Shooting Profile: Jeremiah Engleton • Prior domestic assault and arrest – rolling domestic incident • Rehearsed killing his wife – gun to her head • Gun collector • Prior incident of firing a weapon on a public street – neighbors witnessed but did not report • Arrested for domestic assault and blamed officers for wife leaving • Deputies assisted in relocating wife from home • Pre planned shooting - made false 911 call • Moved across street with multiply weapons and ambushed arriving officers • Ambushed and wounded Pleanston PD officer and retired Border Patrol Agent • Deputies and local municipal officers on different radio system • Committed suicide after gunfight Section One, Handout #2

8. Shooter lured officers with 911 call October 14, 1999 – Pleasanton, Texas

9. Top 10 MostDangerous Duties • Driving a Police Car • Making an Arrest for Burglary, Robbery, Drugs, etc. • Investigating Suspicious Persons/Circumstances • Engaging in a Traffic Stop/Pursuit • Flying in a Police Aircraft • Directing Traffic or Assisting a Motorist • Investigating a Domestic Violence • Investigating other Disturbance Calls • Avoiding Vehicles at a Roadblock /Traffic Stop • Riding a Police Motorcycle Vts Section One, Handout #3

10. Two Oklahoma deputies shot and killed 12:09 PM CDT on Monday, July 27, 2009 SEMINOLE, Okla. — A man opened fire on two sheriff's deputies trying to serve a domestic abuse warrant Sunday in Oklahoma, killing both officers and wounding a woman who was passing by, state investigators said. EzekialHolbert, 26 was being held on first-degree murder charges in the deaths of the two Seminole County deputies, said State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown. One of the deputies died at the scene Sunday and the other died at a hospital in Oklahoma City. They were identified as 23-year-old Robbie Chase Whitebird, who had been with the sheriff's office since April 2008; and 43-year-old Marvin Williams, who was hired by the agency in 2002. Brown said a bystander was hit in the arm by a stray bullet as she walked down the street. Her name and condition also haven't been released. "As far as I know, she was totally unrelated to the case," Brown said. The sheriff's office declined comment late Sunday, referring questions to the SBI. Brown said it wasn't clear whether Holbert had an attorney or when he would appear in court. Holbert's mother called the sheriff's office around 3 p.m. after finding her son in her house in Seminole. She said he wasn't welcome. When deputies knocked on the door, Holbert started shooting, Brown said. The deputies were trying to serve an arrest warrant issued earlier this year for domestic assault and battery by strangulation, though it wasn't immediately clear Sunday who Holbert was accused of assaulting. Several law enforcement agencies responded to the shootings, evacuated the area and asked local businesses to shut down as they searched for the shooting suspect. By about 7 p.m., the Oklahoma Highway Patrol used a robot with an audio speaker to approach the house. "Through a PA system on that robot, tactical units announced their presence and required the suspect to come out and surrender," patrol Lt. George Brown told The Oklahoman newspaper. "The suspect did come out of the front of the residence and did surrender without further incident." The deputies were trying to serve an arrest warrant issued earlier this year for domestic assault and battery by strangulation

13. Randolph County, West Virginia – 5/20/2003 pd

15. Told doctors he is the “Son of God” and expects to have a baby on Father’s Day.

16. Assessing ThreatsPre-Incident Indicators? Does she/he believe the threat? Was it made in the presence of other people? In writing? In a recorded phone conversation, or text messaging? Is it detailed and specific? Is the threatened act consistent with past behavior? Have there been “rehearsals” of the act that is being threatened? Does the threat extend to others (children, police, her/his new lover)? Does the threat involve murder, suicide or both?

18. Assessing Lethality • Threats of Homicide or Suicide • Fantasies of Homicide or Suicide • Weapons • “Ownership” of Victim • Obsessed with Victim or Family • Separation Violence - Stalking • Depression • Violating Protective Orders Section One, Handout #6

20. Assessing Lethality • Access to Victim or Family • Hostage-Taking • Escalation of Batterer Risk • Previous Contacts with Police • Drugs and Alcohol • Offenders “perception of betrayal by victim” • Offender exhibits significant changes • Other Danger Signals Section One, Handout #6

23. Assessing Lethality • Other danger signals • Increased severity and frequency of abuse • Strangulation of victim • Forced sex • Battering during pregnancy • CRUELTY OF PETS • Violence toward children • Unemployment Section One, Handout #6

24. Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse Young people who are cruel to animals are more likely to become aggressive toward humans as they develop. Violent, imprisoned offenders have usually abused animals during their childhood. American Humane Association

25. Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse Abused children may act out aggression and frustration on a pet they perceive as even more vulnerable than themselves. Physically or sexually abused children may kill their pets rather than have them hurt by the adult abuser in the home. American Humane Association

26. Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse In most cases, the animal is the last victim in a chain of abuse that filters down from the strongest family member to t he weakest. In order to understand an I individual act of violence, the entire family and life history of all participants must be considered.. American Humane Association

27. Police search for man after wife gunned downShooter burst into domestic abuse shelter “When I attempted to leave he choked me twice” • by Jordan Schrader, JSCHRADE@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM • published September 20, 2006 12:15 am SYLVA Investigators on Tuesday cast a net from Pennsylvania to Tennessee for the Jackson County man who they say burst into a domestic violence shelter carrying a shotgun and killed his wife. John “Woody” Raymond Wooding, already sought by law enforcement on domestic violence charges, shot his estranged wife to death about 9 p.m. Monday, Sylva police Chief Jeff Jamison said. Police consider Wooding, 35, armed and dangerous. They believe he fled the emergency shelter in a blue Honda Civic stolen from the neighborhood of his Kitchens Branch Road home. Jamison said authorities have tracked down Woodring’s connections in Western North Carolina, including two ex-wives, and in two other states. “Somebody’s got to see him somewhere, sometime,” REACH of Jackson County Executive Director Jean Bockstahler said hopefully. Impressing Bockstahler and other caretakers with her determination not to live in fear, Bonnie Woodring, 48, came to REACH’s shelter in Sylva seeking sanctuary for herself and her 13-year-old son from a previous marriage. She found a helping hand, but not one that could shield her from her husband’s wrath, police said. Authorities said her son is safe with family. He was not in the shelter’s kitchen when his mother was gunned down there. “This distress caused me to loose my position at work and had to transfer to another department. He also threatens to kill me if I ever left him.”

28. Threat Assessment with the Victim • Encouraging victim to contact local shelter • Providing transportation to safety • Make follow-up contact with victim • Arrest, bail conditions, protective orders, prosecution, supervised probation

29. Threat Assessment with the Victim • Review of assessment with the victim • Forewarn victim of potential violence • Encourage victim to take action to protect herself/himself • Assist victim in developing safety plan

30. Recommended reading: Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Animal Abuse Linking the Circles of Compassion for Prevention and Intervention By: Frank R. Ascione and Phil Arkow Purdue University press

31. Recommended reading: Safety Planning With Battered Women Complex Lives/Difficult Choices By: Jill Davies Sage Publications ISBN: 0-7619-1225-8 Website: www.sagepub.com