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4 days ago
- Yahoo
After 9K domestic violence calls in 2 years, Warren PD unveils Operation Cycle Break
The Brief Warren PD has responded to 9,000+ domestic violence calls in the past two years. A new program, Operation Cycle Break, gives support to survivors Police now has to follow up on reports in person instead of by phone. WARREN, Mich. (FOX 2) - Warren police have responded to over 9,000 calls related to domestic violence in the past two years. "We've learned that a clear majority of cases in our city have had a domestic violence nexus - including many of our homicides," said Warren PD Commissioner Eric Hawkins. Dig deeper Domestic violence is a crime that's often underreported and often a generational, vicious cycle."Children who grow up in an abusive home often learn to accept those patterns of behavior," said Dr. Sharman Davenport, Turning Pointe Macomb. "They either use anger and abuse as a way of coping and controlling their world, or in other cases, they may become the victim, because that's what they've seen." "How can we break the cycle? That's where we came up with this name," Hawkins said. It is called Operation Cycle Break — uniting police, prosecutors, judges, researchers at Wayne State University and counselors at Turning Point to tackle domestic violence. The help provides everything from ensuring survivors have immediate support, to making mandatory counseling a bail condition. "We've never seen anything like this, I've never seen anything like this," said Chief Judge John Chmura, 37th District Court. "And I don't know of any court that's done anything like this in my 29 years in the bench," In the past when police would follow up on reports of domestic violence, it would just be through a phone call. Now with Operation Cycle Break, they are meeting in person. "It's going to change the way they approach domestic violence cases and it will really help survivors feel important," said Dr. Davenport. "They'll feel what's going on with them is a crime and that somebody's willing to step up and do something about it." They say it has already seen positive results. Since the initiative launched around 30 days ago, the city has seen more warrant requests granted, enrolled 20 defendants into counseling — and reached 37 survivors who may have previously slipped through the cracks. "This will make a huge difference in the lives of survivors in Warren," Davenport said. "Because now they will have the opportunity to be heard and make sure their cases move forward." The Source Information for this story was taken from Friday's Warren police press conference.
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4 days ago
- Yahoo
New approach to domestic violence in Warren to help victims, hold suspects accountable
Domestic violence victims receiving in-person follow-up visits from police; offenders receiving court-ordered counseling as a condition of bond, and a dedicated court day for domestic violence cases are a few of the new ways Warren police and other partners are approaching domestic violence incidents in Michigan's third most populous city. The initiative is reflective of its name, Operation Cycle Break, and is an effort to break the cycle of domestic violence, reduce assaults, get help to victims and offenders and streamline the court process to resolve cases quicker in an effort to prevent more serious situations in Warren. Police Commissioner Eric Hawkins said a majority of major cases in the city, including many homicides, had a domestic violence nexus, with more than 9,000 domestic violence calls for service in the last two years. He and other stakeholders discussed details about the new initiative June 6 at Warren police headquarters. Hawkins said he believes this more proactive and wholistic approach will have a "profound" impact on the community and has seen some encouraging points in its first 30 days. Among them: Mandatory training for all officers with Turning Point Macomb. Eighty-eight percent of warrant authorizations for domestic incidents, a 33% increase in warrant authorizations for the same time period last year. More than 20 offenders have been mandated by the court to enroll in batterer intervention counseling as a condition of bond. Contact was made with about 80% of victims after an initial incident, making sure their needs are heard. Hawkins said 37 cases were victims who were unreachable by the court or prosecutor's office. In the past, those cases may have slipped through the cracks. Arrests were made in nearly 93% of cases where a warrant was authorized. "This past Wednesday alone, in court, (the new dedicated court day), all 12 domestic violence cases on the docket saw full participation, something that we've been told is very rare and may never happen, " Hawkins said. "Every victim had the chance to be heard, and all suspects were present and accounted for." Wayne State University will collect and review data about the strategy, providing information to refine and improve the effort. Warren Mayor Lori Stone said the idea is a result of "smart, forward-thinking public safety," with its core to break the cycle of abuse and educate and assist people to get the help they need. Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said the strategy confronts domestic violence head-on, provides early intervention, does not leave survivors behind and holds offenders accountable — an idea that he hopes other communities will implement. In 2023, he said, his office pursued more than 530 cases of domestic violence in the county, most for upper-level felonies, with cases trending the same way last year. "We're not making a difference. We're just going through the motions," he said, adding that he is optimistic the new initiative will change that. In 2019, Lucido said 29% of victims were receiving help. Now, he said, more than 65% of victims are getting help. Last year, he said, more than 5,000 victims were supported by the crime victim advocate program. The number of domestic violence incidents, offenders and victims has risen in Michigan from 2019 to 2023, according to Michigan State Police statistics, with 67,816 incidents in 2023 and 73,220 victims. Chief Judge John Chmura of Warren's 37th District Court said he has seen tens of thousands of domestic violence cases in his 29 years on the bench. What he hasn't seen are two new facets of this initiative, the first being a condition of bond for a defendant in a domestic violence case to get counseling. Chmura said the defendant will have to report to the court's probation department within 48 hours and be referred to a number of counseling centers to sign up for as a condition of bail. While counseling is not unusual in such cases, he said, it's not been required up front. "We've never seen anything like this," he said, adding that he hopes this will help break the cycle of violence. Chmura said the court also dedicated Wednesdays as the day to hear domestic violence cases. Any of the court's four judges can hear the cases, he said, and the hope is to get cases before a judge in 14 days or fewer. He said a defendant could be sent to jail if they don't do what is required. Sharman Davenport, president and CEO of Turning Point Macomb, said the need for this type of coordinated effort has become increasingly urgent. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, there has been a rise in the frequency and lethality of domestic violence in the county. She said the criminal justice path can be long and traumatic for survivors, and abusers can use threats to force survivors back into silence. She said she believes this effort will approach these barriers head-on by imbedding advocacy in the first interaction and reducing the time to hold offenders accountable, reducing intimidation time. Hawkins said police moved resources around within the department's existing budget to ensure officers can do the visitations. Turning Point Macomb is anticipating more cases, Davenport said, and will work within its budget to accommodate survivors as well continue to accept donations and have events to raise money for the services it provides. More: Oakland County sheriff's deputies found loaded weapons at high school graduation in Pontiac Police said the initiative will fill in gaps that occurred in the past, such as follow-ups only being done by phone, not in person; victims and offenders not being connected with resources they needed, and victims getting a court date letter in the mail up to 90 days after an incident. Also, there were not unannounced welfare checks for victims or suspects routinely conducted; lethality assessments were not being completed; batterer intervention counseling was not offered at bond, and case progress was not systemically monitored for effectiveness. Now, officers will be required to complete a multi-question lethality assessment to identify high-risk situations and prioritize response. Suspects will receive a letter informing them police will monitor their behavior post-custody as well as a pamphlet with local services to seek help. Within 10 days of an incident, detectives personally will follow-up with victims to ensure they are safe and that offenders are complying with no-contact orders. The Wednesday court dates also allow police, victim advocates and others to be present. If a defendant fails to appear, police will locate them and bring them to court. Contact Christina Hall: chall@ Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter. Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press. Submit a letter to the editor at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: New strategy to tackle domestic violence announced in Warren
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Yahoo
Warren police: Man with knife fatally shot by police told officers to 'shoot me'
Warren police released Thursday portions of a 911 call and some body-worn camera video from a fatal officer-involved shooting earlier in the week, indicating officers were warned the man would use a knife that he had on them, that they repeatedly yelled for him to get on the ground and he said to "shoot me." The police commissioner, who has been on the job a few months, said the incident shows the crossroads of mental health and domestic violence, two issues that communities and police departments across the country are struggling to deal with. "This incident was tragic on so many levels," Police Commissioner Eric Hawkins said during a news conference at police headquarters, adding police "don't take this lightly." Kenneth Beno, 41, of Warren, died after officers fired six shots, with four of them hitting him in the upper body, Police Lt. John Gajewski said. Hawkins said one officer used a Taser on Beno, but it wasn't effective. Two other officers then fired their firearms. Another officer also was at the scene. The four officers, who were not named, are on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation. Hawkins said no criminal charges have been filed. He did not know whether any of the officers had been involved in prior officer-involved shootings or had any prior discipline. Hawkins said the department will handle the investigation internally instead of handing it off to another law enforcement agency. He said the department has the resources and expertise to do it and it's within best practices of agencies accredited within the state. He said the department is one of 15 agencies in the state accredited by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards. When asked whether this was a death-by-suicide or death-by-cop situation, Hawkins said: "It certainly looks like it." Police released a timeline of the events that culminated with the shooting at about 10:15 p.m. Monday at the train tracks near George Merrill Drive and Lorna Avenue. Portions of video from some of the officers' body-worn cameras was shown during the news conference, but the fatal shooting was not shown. Police said they received a 911 call about 9:58 p.m. from a female in the 27000 block of Railroad, which is near Van Dyke and 11 Mile. She said she believed her ex-boyfriend was armed with a knife, possibly hiding under the bed. She told dispatch he had a pocket knife and "he will pull it on your officers," according to the portion of the 911 call that was released. More: Officials: Former Detroit police officer charged in fatal accident in Roseville More: Man with an ice pick fatally shot by Warren police, sparking questions As officers arrived, she told dispatch that he was running down the railroad tracks toward 12 Mile. A dispatcher is heard providing a description of the suspect and "he did state that he will pull a knife on officers." An officer is heard saying the suspect is pulling the knife. An officer also is yelling for the suspect to get on the ground, adding twice for him to get "on your belly!" according to one of the body-worn camera video pieces shown. Police said the suspect disobeys the commands, yells that he has a knife and to "shoot me." Officers are heard repeatedly in the body-worn camera videos telling the suspect to "get on the ground," but he continues walking. Officers can be heard saying "drop the knife" and "Taser, Taser, Taser" with what appears to be a Taser then being deployed. Police said the Taser was ineffective, the suspect continued to advance and was shot. They said two of the officers walked backward as the suspect advanced. The suspect died of his injuries at a local hospital, police said. No one else was hurt. Hawkins said when officers first saw the suspect, he was about 100 feet away from them. He was about 12 feet from them when officers fired. "We stand by our officers in this case," Hawkins said, adding it's an "unfortunate use of force," but said officers had "no choice but to protect themselves from harm from this person." Police said Beno had warrants in Macomb County Circuit Court and 37th District Court for assaulting police, domestic violence and disorderly conduct. They also said he has convictions for disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and domestic violence. Police said there have been numerous police contacts with Beno, including domestic violence-related calls for service and mental health-related contacts, some of which involved suicidal attempts or statements that required officers to petition him for mental health treatment at area hospitals. Hawkins said weeks before the shooting, the department looked at data related to violent crime in the city. He said it found that over half of the aggravated assaults were felony assaults in the last two years, with a domestic violence nexus. Almost 70% of homicides, he said, had a domestic violence nexus during this period of time. Last year, he said, police responded to more than 1,500 calls for service involving people who have mental illness. This year, he said, the department has responded to more than 270 calls for service involving people with some sort of mental health challenge, about four calls per day. Hawkins said the force is in the infancy stages of a program to help people in the community and the police department regarding domestic violence. It also has begun the process of developing a crisis intervention team program that eventually will train all of the force's officers on how to interact with people who have mental health challenges. Officers also started emotional intelligence training earlier this year to help them recognize, understand and manage their own emotions and understand those of others, including the community they serve. Contact Christina Hall: chall@ Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter. Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press. Submit a letter to the editor at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Warren PD: Man with knife who was fatally shot told officers to 'shoot me'
