Sunday, October 28, 2007

Ask Council & Mayor to support DV bill & amendments

Greetings,

I would like to ask those of you lobbying Council & the Mayor on the proposed Police/Domestic Violence bill, to ask them to support not only Bill # 2007-1797, proposed by Councilman Shields – but also the 4 amendments offered by Councilman Peduto (description of amendments below). Council will hold a preliminary vote on Oct. 31. Sorry for being repetitive, but I am still getting questions & thought to put this out there again.

I intend to fax the Mayor tomorrow a.m. (Fax: 412-255-2687). Here is Council’s email info, you should be able to just cut & paste it into your “To” section:

len.bodack@city.pittsburgh.pa.us, twanda.carlisle@city.pittsburgh.pa.us, daniel.deasy@city.pittsburgh.pa.us, darlene.harris@city.pittsburgh.pa.us, jeffrey.koch@city.pittsburgh.pa.us, james.motznik@city.pittsburgh.pa.us, tonya.payne@city.pittsburgh.pa.us, bill.peduto@city.pittsburgh.pa.us, doug.shields@city.pittsburgh.pa.us

The four amendments would strengthen the pending bill’s language & they are all based on models from the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Amendment 1: adds language that recognizes the danger of child abuse and domestic violence against all members of one’s family, not just an intimate partner.

Amendment 2: requires the City to maintain personnel records of Police Bureau employees for ten years post termination.

Amendment 3: requires an officer who is the subject of a Protection From Abuse (PFA) proceeding in any jurisdiction to immediately notify their supervisor.

Amendment 4: requires that any officer that is the subject of a PFA or criminal domestic violence investigation immediately surrender their primary service weapon, and stipulates that they are not eligible for a promotion during the investigation. The amendment also prohibits the admission of anyone with a PFA from being admitted to the training academy. Lastly, the amendment requires that all investigations of domestic abuse involving police officers be completed by the Civilian Police Review Board.

3 comments:

  1. I wrote my Tacoma Wa Council an email asking them - with detail - to let the Pittsburgh council know what it's like when the worst-case-scenario happens within the police department and you find yourself in national news withOUT a police domestic violence policy... with a trail of events leading up to the tragedy that WOULD have been intervened on if there had been a policy in place.
    I cc'd that email to your council and other folk of power in Pittsburgh.

    I track officer-involved dv and have never seen in the four and half years I've been doing this, a community raise their voices together, and exert unrelenting pressure for their city to do the right thing in this area

    for victims
    and/or officers.

    It's the right thing.

    Cloud Writer
    in Tacoma
    where our police chief committed murder-suicide on his wife
    after the city ignored her reports that he was
    threatening her life.

    OH...
    which reminds me -- make sure your policy has what to do if the abuser or killer is

    your chief.

    It's important.

    I'm following Pittsburgh here
    http://behindthebluewall.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cloud Writer,

    Thank you for your support & for asking Tacoma Council to reach out to their Pittsburgh counterparts.

    The preliminary vote happens this Weds., Oct. 31st, please, everyone, contact all of the council members & urge them to support both the ordinance & the amendments.

    Gloria

    ReplyDelete
  3. You are ALL AWESOME, and helping the NATIONAL awareness - not only about officer-involved dv policy, but what a community of women can do.

    ReplyDelete