Pinellas County Sheriff’s Deputy James Butterfield checks case files.
PINELLAS COUNTY – The county Sheriff’s Office is taking an aggressive role to end domestic violence through education.
That’s not to say that deputies are not arresting abusers. They have the power to jail anyone who beats a wife, husband, child, live-in companion or same-sex partner.
Deputy James Butterfield of the domestic violence investigations unit recently addressed about 100 soldiers stationed at the C.W. Bill Young Armed Forces Reserve Center in Pinellas Park. Sgt. Richard Nalven spoke on drug and alcohol abuse.
“Domestic violence exists in the military, but it also does at all economic levels of civilian life,” Butterfield said.
His goal during the Aug. 20 seminar for enlisted and officer military management troops was showing how to deal with domestic violence among the lower ranks.
Although Butterfield didn’t pinpoint military problems, the Department of Defense in 1999 created the Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence to respond more effectively to problems within the military.
Butterfield said a woman is beaten about every 15 seconds in the United States. They are assaulted more by people they know than by strangers.
Four domestic violence-related murders occurred in Pinellas County since January. More than 7,000 cases of domestic violence occurred last year. The sheriff’s office handled about 3,000 of them.
“Domestic violence is not about drugs and alcohol,” Butterfield said. “It’s about anger management.”
Most violators grew up in abusive homes. They learned from fathers that it’s OK to hit a woman. Females accept being beaten or other abuse because it happened to their mothers.
“We want to break the cycle of violence,” Butterfield said.
Butterfield is a registered nurse and a seven-year police veteran of the Clearwater police force and the sheriff’s office. A former military intelligence agent, he laughs about joining the Air Force instead of the Navy because he doesn’t like boats.
“I was assigned to the one and only intelligence ship in the U.S. Air Force,” the Rochester, N.Y., native said.
Butterfield said more women are injured by domestic violence than in auto accidents, muggings and rape combined.
“Many pregnant women experience intimate partner violence,” Butterfield said. “Medical expenses for victims is estimated at between $3 billion and $5 billion annually.”
So great is the problem in Pinellas County that Judge Patrick Caddell is exclusively assigned to hear domestic violence cases.
Police can arrest a suspect even if the victim declines to press charges under what is known as the “preferred arrest policy.”
Suspects are jailed without bond for 24 hours and often are ordered to attend anger management classes. Battery can be an unwanted touch on the arm. Assault is a threat by word or physical harm.
Generations ago it was acceptable for a man to slap a woman for real or imagined offenses. It still happens, though society has recognized and is working on the problem.
Even animals are not immune. It is not unusual for a man to injure or kill a victim’s dog or cat out of spite.
Violence includes coercion, intimidation, emotional abuse and beatings.
Deputies recently investigated a case of a man who stabbed his wife, then himself in an attempted suicide. Their young son treated both before calling police.
“Domestic violence is unlike any other crime,” Butterfield said. “A gas station might be robbed one night and never again. A woman, however, can be beaten each and every night.”
There are ways to get help. One is by dialing 2-1-1. It’s an information center partially sponsored by the United Way that serves about 174 million Americans in 39 states, including Florida. Operators provide names of shelters, counseling services and support groups.
Victims also are urged to call their local law enforcement agency.
“It’s not OK to be physically or psychologically battered,” Butterfield said. “There is help out there for anyone who wants it.”
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