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Cop Life Update

More details emerge from the sad tale of Natasha Hall and her deranged, gun-toting boyfriend, Daniel Clayton Kufner, in Deland, Fla.
The original story was one of police incompetence and indifference in the face of stalking and domestic abuse that led to the deaths of two teen-agers. We've had enough run ins with the polizei to have an appreciation for this perspective, but we're finding out that there was more to the story. The DeLand Police Department released a statement containing their version of events leading up to the murder-suicide, helpfully posted here by the DeLand Deltona Beacon.
For one thing, yes, there was a history of police intervention in the relationship between Ms. Hall and Mr. Kufner, but not much in the way of prosecution. Nor was it all that clear that the relationship between the two teens had actually ended. The story as reported by MyFox Orlando goes like this, citing data released by the Deland Police Department:

According to paperwork Natasha?s family called police nine times since November.

Two police reports were filed and according to one call back in December, Natasha?s mom refused to press charges against Kufner, but told a detective she had contacted the Deland police department in reference to legal advice.

Here's how the events break down according to the police paperwork.

In July 2007, Natasha?s mom called police on clay claiming he was stalking her daughter.

In November, her mom called again saying clay was threatening to bang their door in and was threatening her.

In December Natasha?s mom called police saying clay beat up her daughter because he was mad about an email she'd written.

At this time the mom and Natasha refused to press charges.

Two weeks later Natasha?s mom called 911 saying clay made harassing phone calls to their home and that he took Natasha to a McDonald?s where she says he threw ice cream in her face, then chased her into a grocery store and forcefully carried her out. This time a police report was filed.

On January 12th this year cops responded to Natasha?s home after she and her mom got in a fight. Her mom claims Natasha was sneaking out to see clay.

A week later Natasha?s mom called police saying clay punched Natasha in the face and split her lip.

And another call a few days later from Natasha who said clay was upset banging on the doors and windows of her home.

She says he was mad because she was at a party with boys, and he was jealous.

So, what do Deland police have to say about all of this?

?To say that we've been called to assist this family several times, absolutely, we have since November of last year. To say that the police dept has done nothing to help this family, I think is a misnomer,? said Deputy Chief Randel Henderson

Moreover, it seems, Mom and Dad Hall had a plan:

After police did not charge Kufner, Cheri Hall said she and her husband allowed Kufner around the family because they were trying to get him help. They hoped he would join the Air Force, Cheri Hall said.

"We were trying to ease him out of DeLand so our daughter would stop getting harassed," Cheri Hall said.

So says the Daytona Beach News-Beacon, in a report that lives here. It's good to have a plan, and it is true that the military once served as a dumping ground for post-high school skells and lowlifes from small towns across America. We've seen a number of our contemporaries set on the right path after a judge offered them a choice of an extended Pacific cruise with the U.S. Navy or spending a couple of years as a guest of the Department of Corrections. But that was in the 1970s, and we're pretty sure those days are behind us.
We suspect that the elder Halls might have been wishing that young Mr. Kufner would just go away, but without wanting to do anything that would actually get him in trouble. It has to be said also that criminal prosecutions are not designed to be easy on the victims of crime. Delay works in favor of the accused, and years can pass before the alleged perp is finally sentence to probation on a reduced charge.
In general, the police are ill-equipped to get "help" for people, particularly people in abusive relationships that don't fit the statutory definition of domestic violence. For attorneys and the unspeakably depraved, the Florida definition lives at §741.28 of the 2007 Florida Statutes:

(2) "Domestic violence" means any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member.

(3) "Family or household member" means spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together as if a family or who have resided together in the past as if a family, and persons who are parents of a child in common regardless of whether they have been married. With the exception of persons who have a child in common, the family or household members must be currently residing or have in the past resided together in the same single dwelling unit.

The whole section lives here, at "Sunshine Online", the official web site of the Florida Legislature.
So, if Ms. Hall wanted to be around an abusive boyfriend (presumably during the intervals when he wasn't being abusive), as long as he wasn't a "family or household member", he didn't fall within the ambit of the law. Likewise, if Mom and Dad are unwilling to do the things necessary to put an end to behavior, the police are not in much of a position to help, and the behavior will continue until it ends by itself.

Full post as published by West Neanderthal Drive on February 20, 2008 (boomark / email).