Brandon Twp.-One of the most dangerous calls for police officers to respond to is a report of domestic violence.
This week, deputies in the township responded to two such calls, in one case, forcing entry to a home to confront a suspect and ensure the safety of his victim.
‘We make a lot of domestic violence arrests,? said Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Greg Glover, Brandon substation commander. ‘It’s one of our top 10 offenses that we regularly go to in the township… They are our most dangerous calls, because of the emotions involved, weapons present in the homes. Often you go to the domestic violence call and they don’t want to answer the door and we have to force our way in.?
Such was the case around 6:30 p.m., Oct. 24, after deputies responded to a bar in the 2000 block of S. Ortonville Road after witnesses reported seeing a male subject punching a female in the parking lot. During the altercation, the suspect ripped the sideview mirror off a Chevrolet Avalanche vehicle in which he and the fe-male he was attacking subsequently left the scene.
Deputies tracked the pair to their address in the 100 block of Huff Lake Court, but received no response from repeated attempts to get someone to answer the door. An Avalanche vehicle was parked in the driveway, with a broken side passenger mirror. The deputies also observed a red substance inside the passenger side front door and forced entry to the home to search for victims. They located a woman with obvious injuries inside, as well as the male suspect.
The woman denied anything had occurred at the bar and when asked how she got the red marks on her face and neck, said she had been in a fight in Rochester earlier in the day with her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend. She would not cooperate and when offered information on the Crime Victims Rights Act, refused to accept it, saying she wasn’t a victim, despite several red marks and abrasions on her face, cheeks, lips, neck and forehead.
The male suspect, who smelled heavily of intoxicants, refused to provide a statement. When asked why he didn’t open the door when the deputies were knocking, he said he heard the knocks, but didn’t think he had to open the door.
The woman refused transport to a hospital by medics. The suspect was arrested for domestic violence and lodged at the Oakland County Jail.
A state warrant for domestic violence is being sought against the suspect, an option prosecutors have when victims are uncooperative in pressing charges against their attackers.
Before the change in domestic violence laws, police would return again and again to the same homes, unable to arrest abusers in cases where victims are often fearful of the repercussions of turning in the person who has assaulted them.
‘Before the change in the law, arrests were not made and then we might be called back to a homicide, that is why laws are designed the way they are today,? said Glover. ‘If we go to a domestic call, someone will be arrested if we can prove there was an assault. By taking someone into custody, we defuse the situation for the night and it gives time for them to calm down, for no contact orders to be put in place, all things to alleviate further problems. The laws are working, but people violate conditions.?
In a second domestic assault this week, deputies responded to a home in the 3000 block of Chestnut Lane after a woman called 9-1-1 to report her ex-boyfriend had removed an air conditioner from a window and crawled through to gain access to the home. She had asked him to leave and he refused, subsequently sexually assaulting her. Afterward, he continued to physically assault her by striking her with a board and his fists. He then passed out drunk and she was able to call for help. Deputies arrived and took the suspect into custody. He was lodged at the Oakland County Jail and criminal charges are pending. The forensic crime lab responded to process the scene. The victim, who is 13 weeks pregnant with the suspect’s child and has another child in common with him, was taken to the hospital for medical treatment and then transported to the START program for a follow-up examination.
START, or Safe Therapeutic Assault Response Team, consists of nurses, doctors? assistant and HAVEN advocates who help victims of sexual abuse and can obtain evidence to help in prosecution.
HAVEN is a non-profit organization for the victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, providing shelter, counseling, advocacy and educational programming to nearly 30,000 people in Oakland County each year.
For more information on HAVEN, call the 24-HR Crisis & Support line at 248-334-1274, the toll-free crisis line at 877-922-1274, or visit www.haven-oakland.org.