The Federal Way News ran two articles last week about murder and mania in our fair city, both cases showing graphically how difficult it is to control domestic violence, even of the most brutal and open kind.
In this week's column, we'll look at these two cases, identify the legal options currently available for victims, and then discuss two bills currently under deliberation at the state legislature.
Case #1: Rodney Hill and a female friend had been harassed by Matthew Bolar, including death threats. Hill's friend was a former girlfriend of Bolar. Bolar had a criminal record for drugs, robbery, bail jumping, and violation of a no-contact order. He had also assaulted the ex-girlfriend at gunpoint three times within the last month.
Hill and his friend had moved in with a Federal Way homeowner for safety. The friend had gotten a court order prohibiting Bolar from making contact with her (an Order for Protection). Violation of this order would allow police to arrest Bolar. Unfortunately, Bolar somehow learned about the location of his ex-girlfriend, bullied his way into the house with a male friend, and found the girlfriend and Hill hiding in a room in the house. While his male friend held Hill down, Bolar shot Hill at point blank range. He then tried to shoot the ex-girlfriend, but the gun jammed. Bolar fled the scene with his male companion.
Case #2: In the second case, Reed Huska went to his girlfriend's apartment and got into an argument with another man, who was babysitting the girlfriend's female roommate's child. The argument escalated, and the other man fatally stabbed Huska with a steak knife.
The first case involved an attack by a known abuser on a known victim, after prior involvement by the courts and police. The second case was an abrupt and apparently unforeseeable stabbing. In both cases the law seemed powerless to prevent tragedy.
Makes you wonder, "What can be done?" Or even, "Can anything be done?" Will we ever find a cure for the plague of domestic violence?
Here are the types of court orders currently available for victims: An antiharassment order is a civil proceeding filed by the victim asking for court assistance after being seriously alarmed, annoyed or harassed by conduct which serves no lawful purpose. It lasts 14 days, but can be extended to one year. It can be used to prevent harassment which occurs outside of the victim's household.
A restraining order can be obtained if the abuser is married to, or has a child with, the victim. It can be obtained in the course of a divorce, legal separation, custody suit, or paternity case.
A no-contact order can be obtained in any criminal matter involving domestic violence. The violence must be reported to the police, and a county prosecutor can obtain the order.
An order for protection can be gotten by anyone who has been the victim of domestic violence, and who may in the future be abused by a family or household member. The Washington State Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-562-6025) provides statewide information and assistance, including referrals to other agencies.
Two pieces of state legislation are currently under consideration which deal with domestic violence. Here they are:
SHB 1181: Mandates that current treatment programs include classes on the effects of domestic violence on children in households with children, and makes it clear that batterers can be ordered into treatment in civil domestic violence cases.
SSB 5134: Provides a procedure for filing and enforcing protection orders in Washington State, when those orders were issued by courts outside the state.
This statute is required by federal legislation passed in 1994 as part of the Violence Against Women Act. The Washington State bill is patterned after model legislation, and has already been adopted in a number of other states. Neither of these bills would have prevented the two recent crimes described above. Nevertheless, I urge my readers to voice support for these bills, and to seek better funding for current law enforcement efforts to prevent domestic violence. Call your state legislators. You can get their phone numbers or addresses by calling the Legislative Hotline: 1-800-562-6000.
Do something. All of us have to do something. Domestic violence is killing us.