I can understand Davis wanting to keep his sister in law's name private...but what about the name of the officer that assaulted her? Why doesn't Davis mention the abuser's name. I am sure that there are many OIDV advocates out there who would love to know what happened to this officer, and God forbid, if this officer is still on the department.
When I went to the Michigan US Attorney's website, and discovered the position that Davis has, and then read again Davis' non-reaction to this OIDV assault, my mouth hung open: HUH???!!!!
Read the article and then scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to find out what 'No Reaction to OIDV Assistant US Attorney Davis' postition is.
Domestic violence victims remembered with vigil
By JOHN EBY / Niles Daily Star
Saturday, October 4, 2008 12:33 AM EDT
http://www.nilesstar.com/articles/2008/10/04/news/ndnews2.txt
DOWAGIAC - What Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Davis has to say about family violence begins over Christmas vacation 2005 while home in North Dakota.
Cass County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Wagel and his wife Jane (above in front) and Silver Creek Township Commissioner Ed Goodman and his wife Jackie participated in the annual Cass County Candlelight Vigil Against Domestic Violence. A couple of days after the holiday, he was the first person up in the house when the phone rang.
It was his sister-in-law, a woman in her 30s he has known since she was 4.
He told the Cass County Candlelight Vigil Honoring Victims of Domestic Violence Thursday evening in Dowagiac's Beckwith Park that when his wife returned with her sister, "I couldn't recognize her" with her face "swollen six times normal," Davis said.
She and her husband were both tribal police officers.
"They had been having problems," but only learned later and "are continuing to learn" that domestic abuse went on for about 10 years.
"That night they had separated and she had asked him to leave the house," Davis said. "Before we got home, he went to her and said, 'It's going to look bad if your sister and her husband come home and we're not together. The family's not going to have an enjoyable holiday because of you.' As a result of that, she moved back into the house."
In hindsight, he said, they can recall "exchanges," followed by her "completely shutting down" and retreating to another room.
"My wife and I talked about it when we went to bed," Davis said, "but we didn't really focus on domestic violence because, quite frankly, we liked our brother-in-law a lot. We'd known him for about 15 years. He was the nicest guy to us and to our kids. We didn't think this would ever happen in our own family." "He beat her for about six hours that night," Davis continued. "He beat her with his hands and that wasn't enough, so he slammed her head through a big-screen TV they had just bought for Christmas for their kids. He broke that. She was bleeding, but he beat her some more. Then he let up because he got tired.
"He must have went to another room because she was able to walk to the front door. He grabbed her by the hair as she went down the front steps, kicked her a couple of times out on the stoop and pulled her back into the house. He went and found her service revolver that she used as a tribal police officer and split her head open. She needed six staples to close the wound. He broke her jaw. He smashed most of her teeth. She actually thought when he hit her with the service revolver and she blacked out that she was going to die."
When she tried to call 911, he broke the phone.
She awoke to find herself in bed, her spouse apologetic for what he had done.
Then he blamed her.
"You made me do this," the brother-in-law claimed.
And he resumed beating her.
When it began to get light out, he undressed her and put her in the bathtub slick with blood, cleaned her up as best he could and dressed her in a sweater intended to conceal her bruises.
"He told her, 'I think I went too far this time. I think they're going to know,' " Davis related to more than 50 people attending the annual event sponsored by the Cass County Task Force Against Domestic VIolence, Domestic and Sexual Abuse Services (DASAS) of Three Rivers, the Cass County Prosecutor's Office, Cass County Youth Council and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.
"We had a difficult time getting police to investigate the matter," Davis recalled.
"At the same time, we had social services and victim advocates come forward. They talked to her briefly, and that was the last time we saw those folks."
Even with the cycle broken and her husband in jail, his sister-in-law continued to blame herself.
"I caused this," she would say.
When he was released from jail back into the community, "She started making excuses for him to the point that she wasn't going to go forward," Davis said. "It took a long time for me to understand why this was happening. She was recanting things, and I still struggle with that, but I'm beginning to understand how powerful her survival instincts were and how powerful her ability to cope with this was. They're some of the strongest people I know, but it's difficult to convince them from the perspective I come from. I think the most important thing we can do for these folks is to keep the door open - tell them we love them, we respect them and honor them, and not pre-judge them. They've been through a hell of a lot more than I ever will be, and they've been able to survive much more difficult things than I can."
Davis, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan for 14 years, was introduced by Assistant Prosecutor Diab Rizk.
Before that, Davis practiced law privately with a firm in Boulder, Colo., representing Indian tribes throughout the United States on issues ranging from gaming and water rights litigation to protection of tribal treaty rights.
Davis graduated from the University of New Mexico Law School in 1989.
He is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.
He grew up on a reservation in north-central North Dakota, about 10 miles from the Canadian border.
Davis, who has three children, was accompanied to Dowagiac by his wife.
They relax by riding their four horses.
Survivor Angela Strauss said, "There is not only hope, there is also life after domestic violence. Second, to all those we have lost to domestic violence, we may never know the whys of who will survive. That is the danger of domestic violence - never knowing when it will take someone. But I do know that my name, along with other victims, could be on that list we read tonight. It's of the utmost importance that we educate everyone about the dynamics of domestic violence and how potentially dangerous this can become ... we must not allow one more name to be put on that list."
"It is critical to hear from people who have been through this," Davis said.
"When people like Angela come forward and talk about being there, that's important. I have a victim advocate in my office, Janet, who talks to me about why they're doing the things they do."
The list of women, children and men killed from 1975 through 2007 fills five pages up to Denise Simpson, 41, from Dowagiac.
Her mother came to read the passage about her estranged husband, Michael Simpson, luring her to his house to talk. She left her two children with her sister.
When she entered the house he shot and killed Denise, then killed himself.
"I'm raising the youngest one now. We're doing better now, but I do miss her," Denise's mother said.
"We stand in the gap for those who are hurting ... who may even now be dealing with such abuse in their lives ... praying for courage for them to step out of that as we pray for us to have courage to step up and into that place You want us to be," Pastor John Kasper of First United Methodist Church said in the invocation.
DASAS Executive Director Mary Lynn Falbe welcomed everyone to Beckwith Park.
DASAS Volunteer Outreach Coordinator Rita Reed served as mistress of ceremonies.
Jeff Robinson directed Union High School choir members for musical selections.
Refreshments served afterward at Beeson Street Restaurant were provided by Pokagon Band Social Services.
Domestic violence victims remembered By JOHN EBY / Edwardsburg Argus
Thursday, October 9, 2008 11:16 AM EDT
http://www.edwardsburgargus.com/articles/2008/10/09/news/arg1.txt
DOWAGIAC - What Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Jeff Davis had to say about family violence began over Christmas vacation 2005 while home in North Dakota.
A couple of days after the holiday, he was the first person up in the house when the phone rang.
It was his sister-in-law, a woman in her 30s he has known since she was 4.
He told the Cass County Candlelight Vigil Honoring Victims of Domestic Violence last week on Thursday evening in Dowagiac's Beckwith Park that when his wife returned with her sister, "I couldn't recognize her" with her face "swollen six times normal," Davis said.
She and her husband were both tribal police officers.
"They had been having problems," but only learned later and "are continuing to learn" that domestic abuse went on for about 10 years.
"That night they had separated and she had asked him to leave the house," Davis said. "Before we got home, he went to her and said, 'It's going to look bad if your sister and her husband come home and we're not together. The family's not going to have an enjoyable holiday because of you.' As a result of that, she moved back into the house."
In hindsight, he said, they can recall "exchanges," followed by her "completely shutting down" and retreating to another room.
"My wife and I talked about it when we went to bed," Davis said, "but we didn't really focus on domestic violence because, quite frankly, we liked our brother-in-law a lot. We'd known him for about 15 years. He was the nicest guy to us and to our kids. We didn't think this would ever happen in our own family."
"He beat her for about six hours that night," Davis continued. "He beat her with his hands and that wasn't enough, so he slammed her head through a big-screen TV they had just bought for Christmas for their kids. He broke that. She was bleeding, but he beat her some more. Then he let up because he got tired.
"She was able to walk to the front door. He grabbed her by the hair as she went down the front steps, kicked her a couple of times out on the stoop and pulled her back into the house. He went and found her service revolver that she used as a tribal police officer and split her head open. She needed six staples to close the wound. He broke her jaw. He smashed most of her teeth."
When she tried to call 911, he broke the phone. She awoke to find herself in bed, her spouse apologetic for what he had done.
Then he blamed her. And he resumed beating her.
When it began to get light out, he undressed her and put her in the bathtub slick with blood, cleaned her up as best he could and dressed her in a sweater intended to conceal her bruises.
"He told her, 'I think I went too far this time. I think they're going to know,' " Davis related to more than 50 people attending the annual event sponsored by the Cass County Task Force Against Domestic Violence, Domestic and Sexual Abuse Services (DASAS) of Three Rivers, the Cass County Prosecutor's Office, Cass County Youth Council and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.
When he was released from jail back into the community, "She started making excuses for him to the point that she wasn't going to go forward," Davis said.
Survivor Angela Strauss said, "There is not only hope, there is also life after domestic violence... that is the danger of domestic violence - never knowing when it will take someone. It's of the utmost importance that we educate everyone about the dynamics of domestic violence and how potentially dangerous this can become ... we must not allow one more name to be put on that list."
**********
Native American Tribes and Tribal Liaison http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/miw/programs/native.html
Flags of the Twelve Sovereign Indian Nations in the State of Michigan and the Flag of the United States of America
Link to the 2008 Tribal Directory (.PDF Format)
The United States Attorney's relationship with the eleven federally recognized Indian Nations in the Western District of Michigan.
The Western District of Michigan has the largest Native American population East of the Mississippi River. There are eleven federally recognized Tribes in the Western District of Michigan. The United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) recognizes and respects the sovereign status of the federally recognized Tribes. We adhere to the principles of government-to-government relations when working with each sovereign nation.
Communication and services have been substantially improved through collaborating with tribal leadership on matters of mutual interest and concern. Our first priority is to aggressively prosecute violent crime committed in Indian Country.
Annual Government-to-Government Meetings in Indian Country United States Attorney Charles R. Gross and members of his staff annually travel throughout the Upper and Lower Peninsulas with a delegation of representatives from various federal agencies to meet with Tribal leaders from each of the eleven federally recognized Tribes in western and northern Michigan. Participants include tribal chairs, tribal judges, prosecutors, advocates, police and social service directors, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Probation Office. Historically, the purpose of the annual meetings was to promote dialogue and to improve the communication between the United States Attorney's Office and the Tribes on issues of mutual concern. Recently, the annual meetings have expanded to include training on issues of importance to the Tribes and the public safety of their members.
Additional training options include domestic violence protocol, Full Faith and Credit, the non-Indian Misdemeanor docket, report writing and search and seizure procedures for tribal police, counter terrorism issues, and Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is a gun violence reduction program. The Western District of Michigan hosted the 2003 Great Lakes Native American Conference in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The theme of the conference was “Biimadzijik,” which means “respect for all people.” The conference focused on family and domestic violence issues and emphasized that family violence is not a tribal tradition.
The Role of the United States Attorney’s Tribal Liaison
Assistant United States Attorney Jeff J. Davis is the liaison between the United States Attorney's Office and the eleven federally recognized Tribes in the Western District of Michigan. AUSA Davis who is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, works with the United States Attorney and her staff to ensure that the policies and procedures are effective, consistent, and in compliance with the overall directive to improve the government-to-government relationship with each sovereign nation.
Prosecuting Violent Crime in Indian Country The task of Assistant United States Attorneys from the Western District of Michigan is to prosecute violent offenders-Indian and non-Indian - who commit assaults and sex crimes in Indian County. You can read about the outcome of recent cases by visiting PRESS RELEASES.
Multi-Disciplinary Teams in Child-Sexual Abuse Cases
The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Michigan participated on the Governor's Task Force on Children's Justice, Tribal Protocol Subcommittee. Through this cooperative effort, the Task Force helped to create a model tribal-specific protocol for the investigation and prosecution of child sexual abuse crimes in Indian Country. The Tribes are now implementing a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach to combat child sexual abuse in Indian Country.
There are currently seven MDTs operating in the District. Generally, MDT members include a tribal prosecutor, law enforcement (FBI, BIA, tribal police), tribal social services personnel, and in some instances, private counselors, psychiatrists, and health care professionals. Our tribal liaison, violent crime in Indian Country prosecutor, or Indian Country victim advocate frequently attend these meetings.
The MDT method provides for the timely and effective detection, investigation and prosecution of child sexual assault cases and proactively identifies the needs of the victims of child sexual abuse.
Addressing Non-Indian Misdemeanor Crime in Indian Country The United States Attorney's Office established through the Central Violations Bureau (CVB) a non-Indian misdemeanor docket for Class B and C misdemeanor offenses. Tribal law enforcement is provided training on issuing CVB tickets to non-Indians who commit misdemeanor offenses against Native Americans in Indian Country.
A link to the map of the State of Michigan and the Indian tribes located within the boundaries of the Western District of Michigan
[MI POLICE OFFICER INVOLVED PERPETRATED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW ENFORCEMENT MURDER SUICIDE]
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