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Abstract: 

Newspapers have been full of stories lately about “batterers in blue”—police offi cers who assault their intimate partners. The New York Times ran a lengthy story about the death of a 24-year-old mother in St. Augustine, Florida, who was allegedly killed by her deputy-sheriff boyfriend. (Walt Bogdanich & Glenn Silber, Two Deaths on a Summer Night, 11/23/13 at A-1) Police investigators ruled her death a “suicide” despite vehement denials by her relatives. The New York Times story evokes questions about whether there has been any progress in the law’s response to the phenomenon of offi cer-initiated domestic violence. National expert Diane Wetendorf addresses this issue in the commentary below.

Keywords: police victims’ advocacy program; Lautenberg Amendment; police-perpetrated domestic violence; code of silence

Affiliations:  1: advocate and the author.