My Friend Was Beat Up: What Can She Do to Get Justice?

[tribdog]

My friend was beat up by her ex husband about 6 weeks ago. He fractured her skull and broke her nose. She's had about $25000 worth of surgery. She told the police that her ex husband did it, told them where he was and she also told them that he is planning to move out of the country. He has still not been charged with anything. When we asked the police why, they said it was taking longer because the officer had filed a "long" form instead of a "short" form. I don't know what that means.
The ex husband is moving to Australia in a couple of days. What can she do to get the police to charge him? She's called several times and nothing is happening. If he gets away can she sue the police department to pay for her surgery?

 

[turbo]

If you are in the US, your state likely has an Attorney General's office that can help, but they seem to grind very slowly. Your best bet for action might be a local District Attorney, especially if they are elected in your state and want some press. you may also wish to contact federal authorities and see if you can get his passport pulled on a "flight risk" basis. Good luck, Trib!

 

[Breadboard]

I say go to a lawyer and get them to sort it out. They're not free, but if your friends looking for $25k from this creep, then the laywers fees are small in proportion. You'll need a laywer anyway if your going to sue his ass. Let the cops throw him in jail and punish him, let your friends laywer get the money for her compensation. A lawyer will also either advise on sueing the police dept if he gets away, or write a letter along those lines that will hurry the police up. I am not a legal professional, but I think that a lawyers letter sent to the relevant authorities 'Before' he leaves the country would be useful in court afterwards to get the police to cough up for their failure...Im not a paranoid person, and generally trust the authorities, but that long form - short form seems like a bad excuse. I wonder is his cousin/friend/other relative a police officer?! Get a lawyer ASAP. Or at least contact someone other than your local police Dept who don't seem to be doing their jobs.

 

[tribdog]

it's funny, yes the ex husband's best friend is a cop.
She's already gotten a lawyer, but he is focusing on sueing the homeowner's insurance and went on vacation last week.
It's actually my girlfriend's friend so I've stayed out of it for the most part. I just can't see how this guy hasn't been charged. He almost killed her. I punch a hole through my screen door and had to spend the night in jail for domestic violence.

 

[turbo]

Trib, I am not a lawyer, but you need to move quickly to establish with the local authorities that this jerk is a risk of "flight from prosecution" and hopefully they can restrict his mobility to the point where he can only reside in places from which he can be extradited. If you cannot extradite him, your friend cannot hope to get a dime out of him. Good luck.

 

[edward]

Trib
Domestic abuse is a hot issue now , as it should be, try to find a link to yuor local authorities such as the one below. Most communities have one. And you will have a record that you did try to do something to stop him from leaving the country. As someone mentioned above, do not rely totally on your local law enforcement. If your friend official files charges against the man, the authorities have to act.

http://www.lawtonpd.com/abuse.htm

This guy should be out on bail awaiting trial for assault not getting ready to leave the country. Although in the long run your friend will be better off when he is gone. She can also sue for a lot more than just medical costs, and that may be what your friends lawyer is going for.

 

[Bystander]

"Hot issue?" Yeah, for PR purposes --- you want action from the DA's office? Get hold of the local media hounds. The other option is dropping however many millions and ten years getting a writ of mandamus. Your friend may not be interested in going under the media microscope, and that's what politicians depend on --- draw their salaries, take their bribes, and do nothing for the public.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Based on what you say I am completely astonished and baffled he hasn't been arrested.

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

Just tell me where he is when he comes to Australia, we don't want those type of people here.

"To violence against women, Australia says 'no'" ~ Government Advertisement in Australia

(But what about against men? :P)

 

[rhuthwaite]

Don't you dare send him across the ditch you aussies we don't like them either

 

[Pythagorean]

Based on what you say I am completely astonished and baffled he hasn't been arrested.

I agree, unless the girl didn't report it until a long time later and had no wounds to show or something.

Also, I guess if the dude's best friend is a cop, then depending on the size of your city, he may be safe. If it's a small enough precint and the cops are tight-knit enough (like my hometown) then cops can help out the people they know and like.

 

[rhuthwaite]

cops can help out the people they know and like.

Thats terrible where is the justice?! People must be held responsible for their actions they can't just get away with things because of people they know.

 

[FrogPad]

I was going to say the same thing as Bystander.

If it is ok with the friend, get the media involved.

ABC has this call for action thing, http://www.abcactionnews.com/programming/callforaction.shtml

there should be something similar in your area. I would definitely mention that his good friend is a cop. Any type of conspiracy would be a selling point. The flight risk thing would also be good.

That makes me really friggen angry. I can't even put into words what I would do if I saw that happen.

 

[Danger]

Were it not for the impossibility of collecting the costs afterwards, my instinct in this case would be to efficiently and untraceably cause this person to vanish, preferably with a lot of pain involved. At the very least, alert the Aussie government about his arrival. They'd probably be quite happy to make it unpleasant for him.

 

[FrogPad]

Were it not for the impossibility of collecting the costs afterwards, my instinct in this case would be to efficiently and untraceably cause this person to vanish, preferably with a lot of pain involved.

Fargo style?

 

[Danger]

 

[tribdog]

I don't think I'm getting the whole story, although I don't see what mitigating factors there could be. I saw the woman about 4 or 5 days after it happened and she was a mess. If I did that to anyone I'd still be in jail. Somehow the entire legal process has been delayed, I had the dates wrong too. It happened almost three months ago. She vetoed getting media involved because she didn't want anyone to know. I've given her my opinions and she can do whatever she wants.