"It's just a matter of a sense of fair play," said James Malloy, president of Fraternal Order of Police Fort Pitt Lodge No. 1. "This has just gotten out of control here. We don't have an epidemic of officers abusing their spouses."
"(Domestic violence) is something that is a clear and obvious problem in our community," said City Council President Doug Shields, who proposed the policy at yesterday's council meeting. "To me, domestic violence is the wellspring of a lot of bad things that happen in our society."
Shields said his proposal "is not an indictment of police," but noted that officers nationwide are more likely to be involved with domestic violence in their personal lives than other citizens.
Under the proposed law, all police bureau employees would be required to tell their supervisors immediately if they are under investigation for domestic violence and report co-workers who they believe might be abusive. Employees who do not report it immediately could be fired.
The ordinance gives lengthy definitions of what is considered abuse and reportable actions, including physical or sexual abuse, intimidation, psychological or emotional abuse -- mind games, threats, undermining another's sense of self-worth or name-calling -- and economic abuse, such as total control of finances or forbidding someone to go to school or work.
Supervisors would be required to report "warning signs" of possible domestic violence, such as a high number of physical or verbal altercations, inappropriate treatment of animals, injuries or "excessive phone calling" as a way to monitor and control others.
Malloy said the policy would force police employees to make judgments about co-workers' behaviors and report even routine grumblings about something a spouse did or did not do. An officer who argued with his wife in public about a movie would be required to tell his bosses that he had been investigated if another officer had asked them what was going on, Malloy said.
Shields said the proposed ordinance is modeled after a policy developed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, a 20,000-member nonprofit. While those accused of domestic violence but not convicted would keep their jobs, they likely would not be promoted, he said.
The proposed law stems from a public outcry that followed the June promotions of three police officers with allegations of domestic violence or disturbances in their pasts. None was convicted.
The proposal also would help prevent domestic violence on the force, because it calls for stricter screening during the hiring process and more intervention when warning signs are seen, Shields said.
Malloy said one officer, whom he declined to identify, is under a protection from abuse order filed by a former girlfriend and a judge's order that he cannot have a gun in his house. The officer must leave his gun at the station when he is off-duty, he said.
"All he did was get into a verbal dispute with a past girlfriend. She claims he threatened her," Malloy said. Other officers have been named in protection from abuse orders, but none resulted in criminal charges in the past 12 years, he said. Some of those were filed as part of divorce cases, he said.
Shirl Regan, executive director of the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, praised the policy and said she supports all the provisions.
"It's just a beginning," she said.
