Some people may not know about this case and others may have heard a little about it. I had never heard anything that I can remember about this case until we were talking about domestic abuse in my night class. My professor then talked about the Tracy Thurman case. What we were told was that she had previously gotten a restraining order on her abusive husband. However he broke the contract several times. She had repeatedly called the Torrington, Connecticut police to inform them of her husband's acts and they still ignored her. On one particular day June 10th of 1983 he stabbed Tracy repeatedly around her chest, neck, and throat, I believe it was close to 17 stab wounds all together.
A police arrived 25 minutes later but did not arrest her husband even after her husband threw their son on top of her and then repeatedly kicked her in the stomach and head.
Because of this Tracy Thurman sued the city of Torrington claiming she was denied equal protection under the law. She won the battle and was awarded 2.3 million. Also because of this it lead to actions such as during domestic abuse disputes a person that is seen as the abuser is taken into custody for the night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UzpxcbBqe4
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097132/plotsummary
Over this past summer I went with a friend to the courthouse so the HE (male) could get a restraining order on his ex girlfriend you continually harassed him and so did her family and friends. As we waited in the courthouse hallway a woman approached us and she worked for the State of Iowa in the human resource department and specialized in domestic assaults. She sat with us and told us that the State of Iowa has been making domestic cases one of their top priorities and that they are taking every claim to the full extent of seriousness. She also made it clear they are doing this for both men and women who file reports. She also said that over the past ten year’s domestic cases in the state of Iowa rose tremendously and some of those cases turned fatal for the victim. I was so glad to hear that our state was actually doing something and working hard at making this a huge ordeal and putting it at the top of the list.
No person should have to live in fear. Just like the fourth amendment states, that every person will be protected under law and have the happiness and liberty to life.
This case shocked me. I had never heard about it before, but I was astounded at how little the police did and their lack of action resulted in Tracy Thurman almost on her death bed. I mean how serious did the police need this to accumulate too. In the article I read, it says that the police still continued to do nothing after he stabbed her and threw their son on top of her and then repeatedly kicked her head in. It was after all that did they decide to take him into custody.
I cannot imagine the psychological issues that Tracy must have gone through and is most likely still going through today. In the movie clip that was provided, the attorney asked her if she could remember the day of June 10th when she was stabbed. This falls right into consciousness and psychology. Honestly I do not see how she remembered anything from this horrific event. The amount of pain and the fear she was going though as well as the thought of death and the fear she had for her child, which was in the home at the time, had to have lowered the level of her awareness.
This man, her ex husband left Tracy with so many psychological issues that the amount of money she won from her case can never repair or replace what her life would have been like if the police had done something the first time she called for help.
The only positive I can see that came out of this case was the level of awareness that it brought to the public and the nation as a whole. It was stated that immediately after she won her case and sued the Connecticut police, the State of Connecticut enforced a new law making domestic cases a lot more serious and that when the police are called, the abuser is taken immediately into custody that night and a restraining order is put into effect.
I didn't know about this case. I read more about it on this website: http://www.rep-am.com/videos/tracey/. I have a hard time understanding the psychology behind someone who could hurt other human being just because she wanted to leave. I understand that these people have a need for control that goes too far, but I just don't see how they could think that the choices they make are ok. I have a fairly high need for control, but I can't imagine hurting others just because I don't get my way. There has been a lot of domestic abuse in my family (my grandparents, not my parents) and my husband's mother has some experience of it as well. We have had talks about how people can stay in those situations, which is another thing I don't understand. A lot of people would say that they would never make the mistake of staying with an abusive person. After talking to several family members, I would caution people against saying that. I always thought so too, but the situation is vastly different when you're in it. I now say that I would like to think that I would be strong enough and recognize the warning signs enough to leave. Also, I love that domestic abuse is treated more seriously, because it is a very serious crime, but I think more needs to be done at the education level. It starts with parents. I really think that parents have a huge responsibility to teach their children (not just boys, but girls as well) that violence is not the answer and that domestic abuse is very serious. Sometimes what we allow our children to see and what we watch ourselves doesn't reflect that. Children listen and watch their parents more than anything and so they need to set a good example both physically and educationally.
I looked around on youtube, watching some excerpts from the movie about Tracey Thurman, "A Cry for Help." I was extremeley appalled by the reactions of the cops. First the cop on the scene let him kick and stomp on her head, also none of the cops detained the man while trying to help Tracy. Once the cop arrived it should not have gotten to the point where this man could touch her again. It sickens me to see that this is the way any department would work. If there is a restraining order on someone and they are near you, that is call for an arrest, there is no reason to dilly dally around with situations like these, because there is a restraining order for a reason. Another thing with this case that bothers me is that Tracey had filed numerous complaints about Charles, and nothing was done. This whole situation could have been prevented and saved a women a lifetime of pain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZCDHwUpSTw&feature=related
In an article about Tracey's case, it talks about the lack of protection that the cops provided Tracey with. Tracey sued her hometown for the violations of her rights as a US citizen. She eventually won, but not without her fight. The City's defense was that the protocall of the police was protection to people who didn't have a relationship. I feel this is a load of crap, police are here to protect EVERYONE, whether or not they have relationship with their attacker or not! It honestly makes no sense to me how anybody would think this is ok, especially people who are sworn to serve the law.
http://www.soc.umn.edu/~samaha/cj6e/ch06_you-decide_suing_police.htm
Tracey's husband, Charles (Buck) ruined not only his and his wives lives, but he ruined the chance of his son growing up in a normal enviroment. This domestic abuse affected their son. Many studies show that a child who witnesses domestic abuse, usually becomes a victim or an abuser themselves. Tracey's son has had his run-ins with the law with stealing and assaulting women. Its saddens me to see that even though Tracey's son was only 2 when this whole event, went down it still effects everyone involved.
http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/c-e/davis/2005/davis013005.htm
I agree with the comment posted above, there is a positive that did come out of this case and that was there is now more awareness involving domestic abuse and I feel like it continues to get more notice and that it is an actual crime. There are more websites, and movies out there that show what domestic abuse is and how it can be prevented. There is a website that gives advice on providing legal information and providing support to victims of domestic violence. I t hink websites like these and movies like "A Cry for Help" really get the word out and make the public more aware.
http://www.womenslaw.org/
I hope that the police department in Conneticutt was revamped and re-trained because the way our legal forces are trained is how they will respond to our need for help.