Topeka, Kansas Repeals Domestic Violence Law
By a vote of 7 to 3, the City Council repealed the local law that makes domestic violence a crime.
The move, the councilors were told, would force District Attorney Chad Taylor to prosecute the cases because they would remain a crime under state law, a conclusion with which he grudgingly agreed. The Council also approved negotiations to resolve the impasse.
Several victims of domestic violence spoke against the proposal at the meeting, questioning whether it would succeed in forcing the district attorney to resume prosecutions. ‘It is your responsibility to protect these people, and you’re failing,’ said Matthew Agnew, 24, one such victim.
Eighteen people have been arrested on domestic violence charges since September and released without charges because no agency is accepting new cases. That has raised concerns among advocates for victims of domestic violence, some of whom gathered Tuesday outside government buildings to express outrage over the gamesmanship.
‘To have public officials pointing fingers while victims of domestic violence are trying to figure out who will protect them is just stunning,’ said Joyce Grover, executive director of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.