https://www.wfsb.com/news/officers-train-for-new-domestic-violence-law/article_544bc1f2-1fc9-11e9-ab60-03f961617f4e.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
NEW HAVEN, CT (WFSB) - A new law that went into effect on Jan. 1 gave officers more discretion as to who they arrest in domestic violence cases.
Channel 3 was set to get a look on Thursday at how officers train for it.
The law requires officers to determine which party is the dominant aggressor.
The old law often required police to arrest both parties, which they found to have caused chaos to an entire family, especially children.
Under the new law, the Police Officer Standards and Training Council, in conjunction with the division of criminal justice, was directed to establish an education and training program for law enforcement officers, supervisors and state's attorneys when it comes to the handling of family violence incidents.
In training, they'll cover things like factors for determining who is the aggressor and techniques for handling incidents of domestic violence.
Channel 3 sat down with the CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She said last year, 18 domestic violence victims were killed in the state.
She said there's always a need for more resources and laws like the new one.
"When someone is trying to leave, that's a really dangerous time because the abuser for the first time is realizing they're losing that control over the other person," said Karen Jarmoc, CEO, Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. "It can become volatile."
Jarmoc said it's about getting the victim to feeling comfortable calling police and having the confidence that the aggressor will be arrested.
"And the aggressors knows there will be accountability," she said.
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