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Chief Campbell: Arrest spike reflects “what people are going through.”
Police Chief Anthony Campbell took office promising to tackle domestic violence — and now finds himself addressing it among his own ranks.
In the last three months, four of Campbell’s officers have been arrested on charges of domestic violence.
The most visible arrestee was Lt. Rahgue Tennant, who surrendered when a SWAT team came to his East Shore home on Sept. 6, after he allegedly beat and threatened his wife and kept her hostage for a week. (Read about that here.) Tennant remains on paid administrative leave as his case winds its way through the court system; his lawyer said he plans to plead not guilty. Tennant has been stripped of his department weapon (as well as a mini-arsenal he kept at home and allegedly laid out before his wife).
• A second officer, Ryan Walker, was arrested by Trumbull police in June on multiple domestic violence charges including an allegation of strangulation. He, too, has been on administrative duty. He pleaded guilty this week in Bridgeport Superior Court to reduced misdemeanor charges of breach of peace and reckless endangerment, according to court records. His lawyer did not return a phone call requesting comment.
A Trumbull police report released to the Independent Friday states the following: The night before the incident, Walker worked a midnight shift. After getting only two hours of sleep, he and his wife argued about money and his ex, he told a Trumbull cop. She took his keys and his phone, he added. As the argument escalated, Walker held his 1‑year-old daughter in his right arm. When his wife grabbed for the baby, Walker strangled her with his left hand, leaving a small red mark on her neck. The wife of two years did not tell police about a history of any other violence.
When a Trumbull sergeant told Walker what his wife said about the attack, he nodded and admitted that he did it. Trumbull police seized four Glocks, and they returned another Glock and a Taser to the New Haven Police Department.
Internal Affairs will now review Walker’s case and guilty plea, then officials will determine whether they believe he should remain an officer, according to Chief Campbell.
• A third officer was arrested by Branford police on July 19 for allegedly violating a protective order by contacting a family member and returning to his family residence. Police said he did not physically harm the daughter, but they still consider the violation a form of domestic violence. He was charged with first-degree criminal trespass and criminal violation of a restraining order. The police report, released to the Independent Friday in response to a Connecticut Freedom of Information Act request, states that family members said that the officer has the only access to a surveillance system at the house and “they believe he is watching them all the time.”
The officer has returned to active duty after his case was nolled by prosecutors. He did not respond to an email requesting comment.
• A fourth officer was arrested in mid-August by Waterbury police, after two prior run-ins with Torrington cops. He allegedly kicked his wife in the chest, “slapped her in the face” with both hands, beat and bruised her, as she begged for him to stop hurting her.
Leading up to the alleged violence, the wife said she’d undergone repeated physical abuse by her husband, according to the arrest warrant application. In recent months, she learned her husband had impregnated another woman. After that child was delivered, the officer allegedly monitored his wife’s phone and caught her expressing a desire to leave him.
The cop was initially arrested by Torrington police on felony counts of risk of injury to a minor and misdemeanor counts of unlawful restraint, assault, and breach of peace. The Torrington officers took his department-issued weapon; that case has been referred to the court’s family relations officer. The next day, Waterbury police arrested him on three misdemeanor counts of assault, disorderly conduct and unlawful restraint for allegedly locking her in an attic for two hours after abusing her. The report did not record the arrested officer’s version of the story; he has not yet entered a plea in the case, according to the state judicial website.
The officer also remains on administrative duty, still without his gun. He’s barred from working overtime while his criminal case proceeds. Attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful. The wife, after being urged by her 14-year-old daughter to pack her things, told Waterbury policy last month that she was staying at a friend’s house in Torrington.
Brass Confronts “Spike”
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Asst. Chief Reyes, who addressed line-ups after domestic-violence arrests.
New Haven Chief Campbell said he has seen “spikes” before in officers being arrested for domestic violence arrests, though he doesn’t remember four in such a short time.
“I think it’s really reflective of what people are going through. Financial struggles, which are some of the issues in many of these instances [and] relationships issues,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with the stress of the job. Sometimes you get a group of officers who need some assistance in balancing work life with personal life. That’s why we have EAP [an employee assistance program]. Our department uses EAP and offers EAP more than I think anyone else in the state. But you have to afford yourself the opportunity. You have to take advantage of it. We find that those who do use it really benefit from it.”
Since taking over as chief just over a year ago, Campbell has made domestic violence a priority. His department is working with retired police Capt. Julie Johnson to develop a Family Justice Center that’s intended to improve services for domestic violence victims and to help batterers get help as well. He called the recent incidents involving his officers a “perfect example” of how the center could help.
Assistant Police Chief Otoniel Reyes, who oversees patrol, has brought up the arrests in addressing shift-change line-ups. He said he has delivered a dual message: Get that help from EAP when you need it. And know that as officers you will be held to higher standards of conduct.
“It’s alarming,” Reyes said of the recent arrests. “We provide comprehensive services to our officers through EAP and our peer support program, and we continually encourage them to take advantage of them. There is a great deal of stigma associated with seeking help, and we’ve taken steps to help change the culture of silence.”
There’s not much generally agreed upon research on how many cops abuse their partners. But people working in the field say that victims of “officer-involved domestic violence” face additional hurdles before leaving their partner, experts said.
“It’s important to recognize that law enforcement is not immune to committing domestic violence against their partners,” Karen Jarmoc, chief executive officer of Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said. “When it comes to being abused by a partner who happens to work in law enforcement, they are often fearful to seek help. They might be concerned about their confidentiality [and] concerned that they might not be treated fairly. [Other cops] might know their partner, and they might be fearful that they will not follow through on the law. On the flip side, if they do call, it could jeopardize their partner’s job.”
National experts have questioned whether police treat their own too leniently after an arrest for domestic violence, especially when departments, like until recently New Haven, won’t hire candidates who fess up to smoking marijuana.
New Haven Partway To National Standards
In 2003, years of domestic violence perpetrated by the police chief in Tacoma, Washington, ended in him shooting his wife in a parking lot. Since then, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has pushed police departments to toughen up their response to batterers within their ranks.
Their model policy recommends “zero tolerance” for any cops who attack, rape, restrain, harass or threaten their partners.
“It is imperative to the integrity of the profession of policing and the sense of trust communities have in their local law enforcement agencies that leaders, through the adoption of clear policies, will make a definitive statement that domestic violence will not be tolerated,” the group states.
The IACP recommends that police departments vet all potential hires for abusive tendencies, through psychological screenings and direct contact with intimate partners; enter into cross-jurisdictional agreements to notify other departments of domestic violence arrests or even warning signs; require supervisors to document any problematic behavior; and punish officers cover up for their colleagues by failing to report abuse or attempting to intimidate witnesses.
Whenever there’s an incident of domestic violence by a fellow cop, the IACP recommends prioritizing the 911 calls, notifying the chief and ensuring an officer of a higher rank is on the scene to respond and follow through on the investigation with the standard protocol. Afterward, the IACP says that the chief should ensure that all cops who responded to the call are debriefed, sworn to maintain the victim’s confidentiality and assigned any future work.
Afterward, the IACP says that the department should launch two separate, parallel investigations into criminal charges and administrative discipline. The internal decisions should stand, even if a prosecutor or a jury arrives at a different conclusion on the criminal charges, the group says.
In May 2015, New Haven Chief Dean Esserman adopted a policy on officer-involved domestic violence that draws on IACP’s recommendations, but it diverges in several key areas.
• For instance, New Haven’s policy starts when an incident occurs, while the IACP recommends pre-screening and training before candidates are even hired to share information with officers and their families about domestic violence.
• New Haven’s cops don’t have any responsibility to break the “blue line” by reporting warning signs of domestic violence, while the IACP recommends a chief “take disciplinary action and criminally charge” other officers if the investigation uncovers that they “failed to notify the department or engaged in actions intended to interfere with the investigation.”
• After a call comes in, New Haven’s supervisors don’t need to seize an officer’s service weapons unless there’s actual, attempted or threatened use of force, while the IACP recommends taking the guns “whenever an officer is arrested,” as there’s evidence that the presence of firearms can quintuple the risk of a homicide.
• New Haven’s officers aren’t reminded to keep the victim’s identity confidential, while the IACP stresses that leaks could endanger a victim who has fled into hiding or witnesses who tried to keep the partner safe. Speaking generally, Jarmoc said that, without a clear policy guaranteeing confidentiality, “information might be shared, not just within the department but across departments, that’s not supposed to be shared.”
• And finally, New Haven’s policy doesn’t say what should happen if the chief is suspected of domestic violence, while IACP sets out a clear protocol for notifying the state’s attorney and the mayor.
Micaela Valentin Photo
Lt. Rahgue Tennant.
While Jarmoc wasn’t familiar with the specifics of New Haven’s policies, she said that it’s a positive sign that four officers were arrested on these charges, rather than getting away without enforcement.
“We are not hearing that officers are not being arrested,” she said. “The fact that four officers were arrested on charges of family violence is demonstrative, showing that the departments are taking action, regardless of whether it’s law enforcement or not. It appears that they’re following through.”
Outside of departments, Jarmoc said it’s important for victims of officer-involved domestic violence to know that nearly 400 advocates throughout Connecticut, reachable at hotlines at any time, can confidentially talk through the safety risks.
Last year, nearly 38,400 Connecticut residents were victimized by abusive partners, according to a count by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Many of those victims reported being trapped in their relationships, unable to pay for their own housing or unwilling to endanger their kids. Local organizations, like The Umbrella Center for Domestic Violence Services, do offer support for those trying to leave.
As member of the public, you know what I DON'T want to hear from the police spokesperson? "Times are tough, work/life balance is hard, we have this assistance program."
What I want to hear is that officers with any record of domestic abuse have no place on the police force, period.