A Metropolitan Police Department's squad that delivers court-ordered restraining orders for domestic violence victims was pulled from its usual duties on Sept. 30 and temporarily reassigned to the headquarters of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in preparation for upcoming protests of those institutions.
The unit, called the Warrant Squad, was reassigned because of terrorist threats to these buildings, according to The Washington Post.
The D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence received a notice from the MPD saying that between Sept. 30 and Oct. 5, the squad would not be available to deliver any restraining or protection orders.
Temporary protection orders are given on an emergency basis, and they can remove abusers from the homes of their victims, according to the D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
The coalition, along with other advocates for domestic violence victims, quickly lodged complaints against the MPD.
"Six days is a long time when you're talking about restraining orders," said Elizabeth Olds of the Coalition.
"At the time of our complaint, we were not given any additional information that other officers would be serving the protection orders," Olds said. "We got the sense that no orders would have been served during that time until we complained."
The group later discovered by checking with its clients that the restraining orders were served during that time by other officers in the District.
According to Olds, during protests like this, the department 's standard procedure is to pull an available officer from any department.
Some students expressed concern over the police procedures.
"I realize that they have to preserve order at the IMF, but it would be bad if someone got hurt or killed due to a restraining order violation," AU freshman Olga Khazan said. "Ideally, they should be able to do both, but I realize that the metro police have limits."
MPD's public information office declined to comment, citing D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey's comments to The Post.
Ramsey said in The Post that he was unaware of the reassignment but would not have been surprised by it. He placed the burden of responsibility on "domestic violence advocates, court officials, and others" who should have called for an alternative for serving the orders. "We have [other] officers out there who can serve warrants," Ramsey told The Post.
