Domestic Violence Victims Are A Nuisance
April 29, 2013 8:55 PM Subscribe
Last year in Norristown, Pa., Lakisha Briggs' boyfriend physically assaulted her, and the police arrested him. But in a cruel turn of events, a police officer then told Ms. Briggs, "You are on three strikes. We're gonna have your landlord evict you."
Yes, that's right. The police threatened Ms. Briggs with eviction because she had received their assistance for domestic violence. Under Norristown's "disorderly behavior ordinance," the city penalizes landlords and tenants when the police respond to three instances of "disorderly behavior" within a four-month period. The ordinance specifically includes "domestic disturbances" as disorderly behavior that triggers enforcement of the law.
This post was deleted for the following reason: This sounds awful but a single link to an ACLU press release doesn't make for a great post; maybe see if there is additional info from other sources on this? -- LobsterMitten
These ordinances undermine that trust, by punishing victims who call 911 and coercing them to endure escalating violence in silence. Even worse, Norristown reports that domestic violence victims make up 20 percent of its homeless population.
This idiotic ordinance makes a bad situation worse. It diverts the police from serving and protecting and will likely use up more resources dealing with the aftermath. In no way does this make any sense.
posted by arcticseal at 9:06 PM on April 29, 2013
This idiotic ordinance makes a bad situation worse. It diverts the police from serving and protecting and will likely use up more resources dealing with the aftermath. In no way does this make any sense.
posted by arcticseal at 9:06 PM on April 29, 2013
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I hope the ACLU et al nail these assholes to the wall. May they rot.
posted by BlueHorse at 9:04 PM on April 29, 2013