Domestic abuse still a problem

Domestic abuse continues to remain an almost constant issue for Flathead County law enforcement.

"It's never-ending," said Flathead County Sheriff Mike Meehan, whose deputies average between two and three domestic violence calls a day.

"We take them seriously because they can escalate pretty quickly," he said.

Both murders committed this year in Flathead County were also cases of domestic violence. In May, Kenton Weimer, 18, shot his former girlfriend, 18-year-old Tarisia Caron, after an argument about their relationship. Weimer then turned the shotgun on himself, blowing off part of his face. He pleaded guilty to Caron's death in November and is awaiting sentencing.

Earlier this month, Charles Smith, 50, allegedly shot his wife, 46-year-old Jody Smith, after an argument. The couple had a long history of marital discord. He has yet to be arraigned.

According to the Violence Free Crisis Line, a Kalispell advocacy group against domestic violence, 25 percent of murders and serious assaults are domestic-related and 40 percent of all women murdered are killed by their partner.

Because emotions on a domestic-violence call are usually running high, deputies respond in pairs, which quickly drains manpower, Meehan said.

"For officers, they're some of the most dangerous situations to respond to," he said.

Alcohol, drugs, or both are involved in a vast majority of abuse cases, Meehan said.

The number of domestic abuse complaints reported to county's four law enforcement agencies has remained relatively constant over the last four years. In 2006 and 2005, 420 instances of partner or family member assault were reported in Flathead County, according to the Montana Board of Crime Control. In 2004 there were 444 and in 2003 there were 422.

Those statistics, however, drastically underrepresent the actual occurrences of domestic abuse, said Hillary Barshay, the community outreach coordinator for the Violence Free Crisis Line. Only 10 percent of domestic violence is ever reported to police, she said.

The Violence Free Crisis Line works with 1,500 battered women annually, sheltering about 100 of them.

"Most domestic violence in the Valley is typical of rural communities," said Barshay, adding that police usually only get involved when the abuse becomes physical.

Other types of domestic abuse not often addressed in the criminal justice system include emotional abuse, where the abuser manipulates the victim's sense of self-worth, and economic abuse, where the abuser prevents the victim from holding a job and restricts the victim's access to money.

Domestic abuse is about control, Barshay said. She characterized abuse in the Flathead Valley as largely hidden and far too socially acceptable.

"Our community just isn't ready to hold batterers accountable," she said, sharing her observations that victims are often stigmatized, judged negatively, and in some cases blamed for the problem.

So far this year, the Kalispell Police Department has responded to 126 domestic violence calls resulting in 90 arrests for partner or family-member assault.

"If you're caught doing it, then you're going to be prosecuted for it," said Det. Sgt. Scott Warnell, who heads up the department's Domestic Violence Action Team.

The team, created in October 2006, includes a full-time detective, a city prosecutor, misdemeanor probation officer, victim's advocate and office manager.

Its goal is to introduce a multi-agency team approach to investigating and prosecuting domestic violence cases. The team is able to monitor offenders so they don't fall back into old behavior patters and increase victim cooperation, Warnell said.

And more abused women are starting to come forward.

"Domestic violence has been common forever. It just wasn't reported the way it is now," said Meehan, whose officer is required to file a report on every domestic violence call.

The Violence Free Crisis Line is working toward a shift in the public's perception of domestic violence, encouraging the community to depart from the belief that it's the woman's responsibility to make things right, Barshay said.

"The more visible women become in society, occupying positions of power and influence, the more it inspires women at the bottom of the power scheme to seek safety," she said.

To help battered women, the Violence Free Crisis Line runs the Abbie Shelter - whose location is kept secret to protect the women living there - a peer education program to prevent violence in teen relationships, victim and witness advocacy programs to help women through the court process and assist them in obtaining orders of protection, support groups, community education programs, and, of course, and 24-hour crisis line at (406) 752-7273. For more information, contact the center's business line at (406) 752-4735.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com