Police Tactics Used in Reyes Case Probed

As attorneys gear up for the sentencing of an Oxnard woman who shot and killed her abusive husband, police are looking into the incident to determine if officers could have done anything differently to avoid the fatal shooting.

Authorities say they are investigating several aspects of the Edna Reyes case, including a decision to allow Edna Reyes to go into her home unescorted by an officer, which enabled her to slip a revolver into her purse prior to the shooting.

Police officials also are looking into whether a Spanish-speaking officer should have been called to the scene. Neither officer involved could speak Spanish as they attempted to deal with both Edna Reyes and her husband, Martin Reyes, who were arguing in Spanish. Instead of summoning a Spanish-speaking officer, the police asked a teenage neighbor to translate.

Also under investigation is the question of whether officers fully informed Edna Reyes of legal options available to battered women, including such measures as an emergency protective order, which might have been used as a way to immediately remove Martin Reyes from the scene.

Oxnard Assistant Chief Tom Cady said handling domestic disputes is difficult, but officers are receiving training to improve their skills and knowledge on the issue. Once the department evaluates the Reyes incident, officials will determine if additional officer training is necessary, said Cady. State law mandates that all officers receive eight hours of domestic violence training at the academy, including informing victims of available legal options, Cady said.

Hindsight, Cady pointed out, is always 20/20.

But due to the volatile nature of domestic violence, advocates and experts say education and “expecting the unexpected” are critical.

“The rule you should have is not to take anything for granted,” said Paul Nones , a Los Angeles-based domestic violence expert and attorney specializing in family violence homicides.

“The cops are not mind readers,” he added. “Since the couple is upset, scared and agitated there are risks. There should be a selfish interest for police officers to protect themselves. Self-interest from the police will yield protection to battered women.”

Those precautions and legal options are carefully outlined in domestic violence police protocol manuals, said battered women’s advocate Barbara Marquez O’Neill .

*

For instance, police protocol usually requires officers to keep an eye on both people at the scene, for fear that they may try to harm themselves or an officer if left alone, according to police officials.

In addition, the feuding couple should be separated so the two parties are not within ear or eye shot of each other, according to police. Edna Reyes was close enough to her estranged husband on that night to pump two bullets into his chest when she had never before fired the weapon, according to defense attorney Jean Farley.

After the shots were fired, officers knocked the gun out of her hands and it was then picked up by her 11-year-old son, police said. Although officers were able to wrestle the gun away from the boy without incident, it created another potentially dangerous situation for everyone on the scene.

“One of the things we are going to look at in terms of reviewing the incident is why that decision was made,” said Cady, referring to why Edna Reyes was allowed to pack her belongings unaccompanied. “Generally, you would not like to do that. The reality is that at that point [police] thought everything had been resolved.

“The issue of responding to domestic violence is a tough one,” Cady added. “We take a much more serious look at the problem than we used to. We are not perfect yet, but I think we have come a long way and we will keep working at it.”

*

The case of Reyes, who pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter Tuesday, has garnered attention from advocates for battered women statewide. She faces a minimum sentence of probation and a maximum of 21 years in prison.

Defense lawyer Farley said she and her staff of two psychologists, an investigator and a sentencing officer are preparing a report recommending probation for Reyes. Farley said they intend to focus on the woman’s state of mind, saying that she suffered from battered women’s syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of the shooting.

Throughout the couple’s 12-year marriage, Edna Reyes filed complaints of abuse against her husband. In 1989, Martin Reyes pleaded guilty to beating and kicking his wife and served jail time for the assault, Oakland police said.

Reyes, 29, also accused her husband of abusing their children, ages 3 to 11. She had a restraining order against her husband that expired without her knowledge a few weeks before Martin Reyes visited her Oxnard apartment.

In January, Edna Reyes fled to Mexico to escape her husband, but he followed her, according to Farley. When she returned to Oxnard, police said, Edna Reyes had seen her husband and feared he would find her new residence.

*

Because the restraining order had expired, police said Martin Reyes was not violating any laws when he came to his estranged wife’s home. Because the couple were not divorced, he had a right to see his children, police said.

But that is where police knowledge on the extra precautions and resources available for battered women becomes important, advocates say. Knowing that the restraining order had expired, the Oxnard officers could have asked Edna Reyes if she wanted an emergency protective order (EPO), which gives time to seek or renew a temporary restraining order.

Officers can call a judge, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to get an EPO issued immediately. Ventura County’s Domestic Violence Task Force police protocol manual states that an EPO can be used as a short-term remedy to prevent either the woman or children from further abuse.

Cady said every officer in the Oxnard Police Department is expected to read the protocol manual, but he added that the police report on the Reyes shooting makes no mention of either officer asking Edna Reyes if she wanted an EPO, even though she informed them that she thought her husband had been stalking her and she feared he would find her home.

“You have to rely on the police to bring that up,” said O’Neill of Interface Children and Family Services, a service provider for battered women and families.

“It is unusual for a victim to know this because it is not something that is advertised. They don’t know about it unless the woman had contact with a shelter where they give her that information.”

*

One of the issues Cady said his department is focusing on is why Edna Reyes was allowed to enter her home alone. One reason, Cady said, is that John Ahearn, a 23-year-veteran, and one-year rookie Eric Mora thought they had defused the situation.

But according to San Diego Police Department Sgt. Gary Moore, head of the domestic violence unit in a department hailed by battered women’s advocates as one of the nation’s most progressive, every officer is taught never to leave either party alone.

“Our field officers are trained to know--this goes for any type of crime--you just don’t do that,” said Moore. “It is a very important officer safety training issue.”

In addition to these precautions, it is important for officers sent on domestic violence calls to know the history of the feuding couple because the abuse is usually a long-term cycle, not a one-time incident, experts say.

Oxnard police officers are handicapped by the lack of computer equipment available to them for immediate information on the feuding couple’s history or information on the residence before they arrive at the scene.

San Diego police cars are equipped with computers that generate immediate information on the residence and even the people who live there if there have been reported problems in the past. Before they arrive at the residence, San Diego police officers are planning their approach, according to Moore.

*

Assistant Chief Cady said the Oxnard department is working on giving officers more information when they are called to domestic disputes.

“Were we able to provide officers with the right kind of information they needed?” Cady asked. “Our goal in the future is to have officers with computers in their cars where they can gather information directly on the people. We are not there yet. We are still a couple of years away.”

Funding, Cady said, is always a problem. But recently the Oxnard Police Department received a $200,000 federal grant to increase its training on domestic violence. Beginning in September, officers in the South Winds storefront station will be assisted by volunteers from Interface and a probation officer assigned to deal with batterers.

“To really do it right, it takes something like this kind of a program,” Cady said. “It allows for a collaborative effort between service agencies and probation.”

Vigilance and education, experts say, can help prevent these situations from turning deadly, not only for the people involved in the dispute, but also for the police. According to American Police Beat, a monthly magazine, last year domestic dispute calls accounted for one in three assaults against officers. Over the past 10 years, 17% of law enforcement deaths nationwide came as a result of domestic violence calls.

“What is tragic is that this is preventable,” Paul Nones, the domestic violence expert. “It is tragic that all these cops die every year . . . If these cases are not treated carefully, it is one of those situations where everybody loses.”