ABSTRACT
The police respond to an intimate partner violence call and find a victim who has obviously been beaten, and is badly shaken. The officers separate the offender and victim to talk with them, and the officer talking with the victim feels he’s making some headway in getting the victim to open up. In the course of this exchange, the offender tells the other officer that he needs to go to the bathroom. When he comes out of the bathroom, he walks through the living room carrying a hand towel in view of the other officer and victim. The victim sees him, suddenly becomes less cooperative with the officer, and is visibly afraid. The officer, who has received special training in handling domestic violence incidents and is very intuitive, quietly asks the victim what just happened. The victim shares that the offender puts a towel over her face and then hits her through the towel. If not for a perceptive police officer, this exchange would have gone completely unnoticed, and the victim’s sudden reluctance to talk would not have been viewed for what it was-a completely rational and understandable response to a coded but clear threat.
