MCOLES Domestic Violence Response 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A victim tells you her abuser broke her phone so she could not call for help. This is an example of which tactic used by abusers?
- Physical assault
- Isolation through technology control (Correct answer)
- Economic abuse
- Using children as pawns
Correct answer: Isolation through technology control
Destroying communication devices is a form of isolation and technology control, a recognized pattern of coercive control used by abusers.
Question 2: During a DV investigation, a child in the home tells you they witnessed the assault. The officer should:
- Interview the child only with both parents present
- Interview the child separately in an age-appropriate manner and document the statement (Correct answer)
- Exclude the child's account since minors cannot testify
- Defer to Child Protective Services before obtaining any statement
Correct answer: Interview the child separately in an age-appropriate manner and document the statement
Child witnesses should be interviewed separately from both parents, in an age-appropriate manner, and their statements carefully documented as potential evidence.
Question 3: An officer responds to a DV call and discovers the alleged victim is the primary aggressor. The officer should:
- Arrest both parties to let the court sort it out
- Apply the dominant aggressor standard and arrest the primary physical threat (Correct answer)
- Decline to arrest since the victim's status makes arrest inappropriate
- Mediate the dispute and release both parties
Correct answer: Apply the dominant aggressor standard and arrest the primary physical threat
Even when the alleged victim is the aggressor, the dominant aggressor standard requires the officer to identify and arrest the party posing the greatest ongoing threat.
Question 4: Under Michigan's strangulation statute (MCL 750.84), strangulation or suffocation in a domestic context is classified as:
- A misdemeanor assault
- A felony punishable by up to 10 years (Correct answer)
- A civil infraction if no injury is visible
- An aggravated misdemeanor
Correct answer: A felony punishable by up to 10 years
Michigan law classifies strangulation or suffocation as a felony with up to 10 years imprisonment, reflecting the high lethality risk of this act.
Question 5: When completing a lethality assessment at a DV scene, which factor most significantly elevates the risk of homicide?
- The couple has argued loudly before
- The abuser has threatened to kill the victim or has previously used a weapon (Correct answer)
- The victim has family nearby who can provide shelter
- The incident occurred during daytime hours
Correct answer: The abuser has threatened to kill the victim or has previously used a weapon
Death threats and prior weapon use are among the strongest predictors of intimate partner homicide and must be documented and acted upon.
Question 6: A victim recants her statement the day after the arrest. The prosecutor's ability to proceed with the case:
- Ends immediately because the victim is the only witness
- May continue using officer observations, photos, 911 recordings, and other evidence (Correct answer)
- Requires refiling the case as a misdemeanor only
- Depends entirely on whether the suspect has prior convictions
Correct answer: May continue using officer observations, photos, 911 recordings, and other evidence
Recantation does not automatically end prosecution; officers' independent evidence, 911 recordings, medical records, and witness statements can support the case without the victim's testimony.
Question 7: When an officer serves an emergency PPO (ex parte) on a respondent, the respondent must be informed that:
- The PPO is permanent and cannot be challenged
- They have the right to request a hearing to contest the PPO within a specified timeframe (Correct answer)
- Violation of the PPO is only a civil matter
- The PPO does not affect their firearms rights
Correct answer: They have the right to request a hearing to contest the PPO within a specified timeframe
Respondents served with an ex parte PPO must be told they have the right to request a hearing to contest it, typically within 14 days under Michigan court rules.
MCOLES Domestic Violence Response 3
A victim tells you her abuser broke her phone so she could not call for help.
This is an example of which tactic used by abusers?