Bipartisan Iowa bill would require police to assess domestic abusers to keep victims safer

Lee Rood
Des Moines Register
A dusting of snow blankets flowers left by mourners outside of Kristie Allen's home in Windsor Heights. Shot to death JaN. 18, She was among six women to die in the Des Moines metro in the past two months in domestic violence-related shootings.

Acting after a rash of domestic partner murder-suicides in the Des Moines metro, bipartisan Iowa legislators and advocates are pushing for a new law aimed at providing better assessments of the ongoing risk to victims of domestic violence.

A second bill, filed in response to a high-profile case of alleged electronic stalking, would enhance criminal penalties for offenders.

Polk County state Reps. Sean Bagniewski, a Democrat, and Brian Lohse, a Republican, filed a bill late last week almost identical to one the House passed unanimously in 2018, but which failed to make it through the Senate.

Still awaiting a bill number, it would require police across the state to conduct evidence-based standardized assessments when interviewing victims of domestic violence.

Used already in more than 30 states and tried in several of Iowa's largest counties, lethality assessments aim to help the justice system determine further risk to victims, better connect them with services, make safety plans and place conditions, if needed, on offenders before or after trial.

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“This is something that all legislators should be proud to pass,” said Tiffany Allison, a domestic abuse survivor and founder of the nonprofit Soaring Hearts Foundation. “This would help so many victims in their communities.”

Seven women have been shot, six fatally, in the Des Moines metro in the past two months by men who then turned their guns on themselves. Five of the women died at the hands of their former partners; one was killed along with her daughter by the daughter's ex-boyfriend.

The assessment bill would help screen thousands of offenders accused of domestic abuse, a top call by law enforcement, and require GPS monitoring for the most serious offenders.

About 9.4% of people convicted of domestic abuse used an extreme level of violence in their assaults, according to an analysis of 2015 offenses by Iowa’s Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning.

Iowa Code section 236.12 already says that if a peace officer has reason to believe that domestic abuse has occurred, that officer is to use all reasonable means to prevent further abuse.

The lethality assessment would attempt to identify those offenders who are most likely to try to kill their victims. Results would be provided to county attorneys, who would use them to determine the appropriate level of supervision.

The bill prohibits the release of defendants on their own recognizance or on an unsecured bond if they are charged with a violation of domestic abuse assault under Iowa Code section 708.2A and is considered at a high risk to reoffend.

It also requires anyone convicted of a domestic abuse assault class D felony to be supervised by an electronic monitoring system upon release until authorities determine they can go without.

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Sgt. Paul Parizek said Des Moines police see firsthand the effect of intimate partner violence and "are supportive of further efforts to protect and assist victims, reduce the occurrence of these crimes and hold offenders accountable."

He said the department works closely with crime victims and their advocates, connecting victims with "resources and services that can provide counseling, shelter, and support as the victim and their loved ones navigate through the court processes that can often be lengthy." 

Another bill, introduced by Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, would address electronic stalking, which is defined as an abuser planting an electronic device that allows tracking of another person, potentially enabling harassment.

Bisignano's legislation would make a second conviction for the unauthorized placement of a GPS device an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in jail.

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Someone tracking a minor who is not the child's parent or guardian could be charged with a class B felony, Bisignano said.

He said he already had been considering legislation when he read about the arrest in an Ankeny case of Des Moines metro bar owner Steve McFadden, owner of Grumpy Goat, Tipsy Crow and other establishments. McFadden is accused of stalking an ex-girlfriend by hiding a GPS device in her car.

Also charged was a friend of McFadden's, Edwin Allen III, owner of Zora Bar and Rooftop. Police said Allen helped McFadden track the woman while McFadden was in Florida with another ex-girlfriend.

McFadden's arraignment in the stalking case is set for March 2.

Bisignano said he considers anyone who would do such a thing as "dangerous people. When you put a tracking device on someone, what’s the next step? What happens then when you're around the wrong person and they react?"

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He acknowledged he faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Legislature getting the bill heard in subcommittee before March 3, the so-called funnel when many unpassed bills get sidelined. But he is hopeful he can find bipartisan support.

"There are just so many concerns with these devices and minors being trafficked," he said. "I've got good rapport with a number of Republicans who have the power to do this. … It’s time we start to address this."

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Allen, who had been charged with harassment and stalking, pleaded guilty to a count of disorderly conduct and will be sentenced in May.

Lee Rood staff photo, Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021.

Lee Rood's Reader's Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Reach her at lrood@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8549, on Twitter at @leerood or on Facebook at Facebook.com/readerswatchdog.