Sgt. Sadie studies serious statistics

Chief Austin Swing opened class with some interesting facts and figures about policemen that had just reached his hands prior to class. The chief told us that 57 police officers nationwide -- more than one a week -- had been killed in the line of duty last year. On top of that, he said 59,000 were assaulted. These numbers are up from 2006.

Swing told us that more officers are killed in the Southeast compared to all other regions in the country combined. That fact kind of kills the assumption that New York City police officers face the most danger in their work. Nope, officers in the South are more likely to die on the job.

Why? Swing doesn't know for sure, but he says it's always been this way. He guessed it may be because the South still holds on to this "good 'ole boy" mentality, and officers may at times be less strict.

Perhaps a Southern police officer carried home drunk, yet harmless, Jimmy from the bar 50 times ... but on that 51st time he didn't want to go home. This time he had a gun.

Speaking of guns, Detective Lt. Pat Mathis said that in general more Southerners, especially in rural areas, carry guns, which also could partly explain the statistics Swing shared.

After the interesting introduction we traveled to the communications center. Director Cathey Mathis, Pat's wife, shared her knowledge of the center, which answers 3,500 9-1-1 calls a month. I quickly formed my personal belief that the center is understaffed, underpaid, and overworked.

Open since 1987, the communications center serves as the dispatch center for both the city and county; they answer calls made to 9-1-1 and then determine who needs to be sent to the emergency -- city police, sheriff's departments, EMS or one of several fire departments.

We learned so much, but one highlight I'd like to share is about the declining number of land lines in homes, which is posing a problem for the center.

"We may or may not be able to track you down if you call, but can't talk," Cathey told us. Wow, what a scary thought. If you call the center from a land line, your location automatically appears on the center's monitor, so emergency crews can quickly get on the road to reach you. Cathey recommends keeping a land line, and even if you don't have a service plan, at least keep it plugged in -- because 9-1-1 calls can still be made. The problem with that, however, is that the center can't call you back.

Speaking of callbacks, anyone who calls the center and hangs up will be called back by the center (assuming a call back can be made) and will also be visited by the police to ensure the safety of the caller.

One last tip from the communications center: Please make sure your house and mailbox are labeled with your address! The last thing you want during an emergency is for emergency crews to have trouble finding your house.

A lecture on domestic violence concluded our informative evening. Domestic violence calls are one of the most frequent calls made to 9-1-1.

While DV victims want the police to come out to stop the assault, rarely are they happy when an arrest is made due to fear of the situation worsening when the perpetrator gets out of jail.

Domestic violence assaults cover a very broad spectrum of people and relationships (not just married people who live together), and most often offenses are made as a result of drugs, money and infidelity, not surprisingly.

Possibly the biggest losers in domestic violence are the children involved. Not only children who are abused (about 115 are physically abused per hour in the nation) but children who watch a parent assaulted by the other parent suffer their whole lives from mental and emotional problems associated with their troubled childhoods. And more often than not, the abusive cycle repeats itself.

We watched a homemade video from YouTube that really caught our attention Tuesday evening. An abusive father forced his son to videotape his hour-long assault on his wife, the child and videographer's mother. It was a stunning clip from a 20/20 special that left me speechless. Finally, they got help and worked up the courage to leave this man, who ultimately received a sentence of 35 years in prison.

One of my classmates, at the conclusion of the video, said something to the effect of, "I just don't understand how a woman can stay with a man like that."

It's pretty simple, actually. Abused women stay because they are dependent, insecure and hopeless. Leaving often means leaving with no money, no job, no clothes, no house. It takes the average abused woman seven attempts before permanently leaving her abuser.

Please don't pass judgment on a victim of domestic violence, because leaving, as I learned Tuesday, is so much easier said than done.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. If you or someone you know suffers from this, please call the Haven of Hope at 680-3005.

-- Sadie Fowler is a staff writer for the Times-Gazette. She can be reached at (931) 684-1200, ext. 214, or by e-mail at sfowler@t-g.com. This column is scheduled to print every Thursday.