NOW Logo

Police Domestic Violence Allegations Must be Taken Seriously

BELLEFONTE, PA June 27, 2007:  Pennsylvania NOW, Inc., the state-level organization of the National Organization for Women is calling upon Mayor Revenstahl, Police Chief Harper, and the Pittsburgh City Council to rescind the promotions of three officers with domestic violence allegations who were among four officers promoted within the ranks of the department despite their record of violence against women.  We have sent a letter to Doug Shields, President of City Council with this demand and have offered some policy change recommendations. (Go to full article.)

On June 18, Chief Nate Harper and Mayor Revenstahl promoted George Trosky, Charles Rodriquez, and Eugene Hlavac to, respectively, the ranks of Commander, Lieutenant, and Sergeant.   All three have allegations of violence against women in their records.  Yet these records were ignored when the decisions were made for promotion.   These promotions should never have happened. 

According to the National Center for Women and Policing, domestic violence is two to four times more common in police families than in the general population.

Making light of domestic violence by covering up or ignoring one’s past behavior when off work continues to threaten the lives of women and children. These promotions send a message that it is okay to beat your wife or partner, your daughter or any significant other. Domestic violence starts off with verbal abuse and can escalate over time to murder or murder/suicide. 

Domestic Violence is a crime. It is not a family matter.  And it should never be tolerated.

Last year in Pennsylvania, 92 people were murdered as a result of escalating domestic violence; 13 of those were from Allegheny County. In Luzerne County in 2006, the perpetrator was a police officer who shot his 39-year old wife in their home. Last week, in Ohio, a police officer with a record of violence murdered his pregnant girlfriend.  And in Tacoma, WA, a man who was promoted through the ranks to Chief of Police committed murder/suicide in 2003 after allegations of sexual assault and physical abuse had been raised in 1988, 1996 and 1998. Yet in every one of these cases, the alleged criminal acts appear to have been ignored or covered up by the local police departments. The domestic violence escalated over time. And murder was the result.

There must be a policy of zero tolerance of violence against women and children perpetrated by police.

We have therefore recommended to the City that these promotions be rescinded and have asked for several other policy changes. We have recommended to the city that they:

  • Keep records of allegations of alleged stalking, domestic violence, and sexual attacks by police officers in the personnel records during the employment of and for 6-10 years post employment to ensure that current and future police jurisdictions can have access to this record when making hiring or promotion decisions.
  • Refer allegations of any criminal act by a police officer, including domestic violence, to an outside agency such as the DA’s office or the PA State Police in order to overcome police “codes of silence.”
  • Set up an anonymous hotline service for community members and police to report allegations of sexual assault, stalking, and domestic violence.  This would allow victims and police officers to report incidences they would otherwise fear reporting to the local precinct.
  • Hire more female police officers in an effort to change the climate within the police department.
  • Establish a community oversight committee to review policies, procedures, and complaints about and within the police department.
  • Require periodic psychological and other appropriate evaluations of all officers at hire, after any significant job-related occurrence, upon allegations of significant misconduct, substance abuse, or criminal activity including domestic violence, and routinely after every five (5) years of employment.

Contact information: Joanne Tosti-Vasey (814-280-8571), President, Pennsylvania NOW, or send an email to panow@panow.org.