Police Officers and Domestic Violence...

This is an important issue in the US and hopefully the Violence Against Women Act will not be re-affirmed.

Shot in the line of duty. Twice awarded the Medal of Honor. Named New Jersey Police Officer of the Year. A highly decorated officer with an impeccable record. For 22 years police officer Eric Washington battled criminals on the streets of East Orange, New Jersey. On January 21, 2001 Washington was ambushed and brought down--not by an ex-convict bent on revenge or a shadowy gunman but instead by a false domestic violence accusation brought by a mentally ill woman.

Under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and the 1996 Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban, individuals, including police officers and armed forces personnel, are prohibited from possessing a firearm if they are subject to a restraining order regarding an intimate partner. Yet restraining orders are notoriously easy to obtain. Unless the accused can get the order undone at a hearing--no easy feat in today's climate--any police officer's or serviceman's career is one flimsy accusation away from destruction. In New Jersey, state policy dictates that men lose their weapons simply when a woman makes a police report of domestic violence.

For many fathers, the destruction is double. Since restraining orders are often used as first strike weapons in divorce, falsely accused officers often have their careers destroyed at exactly the moment they are slapped with stiff child support obligations, spousal support, and legal costs.

Some policemen have banded together and have formed the Police Officers Solidarity Commission.