L.A. Lawsuit on Battered Women Settled

Six years after three women sued the Los Angeles Police Department charging that officers routinely ignored the pleas of battered women for protection, a settlement was reached Thursday that sets specific standards for police handling of domestic violence complaints.

As part of the settlement approved by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Norman R. Dowds, the city also agreed to appropriate $50,000 to distribute to shelters and havens for battered people in Los Angeles.

“The point of the lawsuit was to ensure that mandated changes were implemented,” City Atty. James K. Hahn said Thursday in announcing the settlement. “This is one lawsuit where everybody wins.”

Hahn said police are already going by many of the standards spelled out in the agreement.

Under the settlement, officers responding to domestic disputes are required to make felony arrests when warranted, give victims guidance on making citizen arrests and stand by if necessary to help a victim leave the scene of a dispute.

The suit, filed in 1979 on behalf of three women by the San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services Unit, alleged that police routinely refused to intervene in cases in which women were assaulted or beaten by men with whom they had a sexual relationship.

The class-action suit also charged that police consistently ignored pleas of battered women to arrest their assailants and it challenged the alleged official view of such incidents as family squabbles, instead of criminal acts.

Settlement standards require responding officers to make decisions “according to the same standards which govern the decision to report to, remain at, or leave the scene of (other) crimes that do not involve domestic violence,” Hahn said.

The three women who filed the suit claimed they had not received adequate police assistance after calling police.

In 1982, Dowds certified the suit to include all women who, between Aug. 16, 1979, and Oct. 4, 1982, were “beaten, attacked or assaulted by men with whom they have had a sexual relationship” and who received no or inadequate assistance on calling police.

Hahn said class members who believe they have a claim against the city because of such incidents should file a claim under the state Tort Claims Act or an action against the city.

Deputy City Atty. Donna Weisz, who handled the case for the city, said the consent decree and judgment also provide “equitable relief not only to women but to any person who seeks police assistance in a domestic violence situation.”