The first police spouse Dr. Leanor Boulin Johnson interviewed came in to the office, sat down and said: "I have something I want to talk to you about, and I really don't care what you want to talk to me about. I'm going to tell you what I want you to know about my stress." (p. 60 from Police Wife by Alex Roslin)  She went on to  tell Dr. Johnson and her colleague about how her police officer husband was beating her.  More stories of police officer perpetrated domestic violence were uncovered as the research continued. With each disclosure, Dr. Johnson was thrown deeper and deeper into the hidden world of officer-involved domestic violence (OIDV). 

Over more than thirty years, Dr. Johnson has done multiple studies and even testified to the United States Congress about officer involved domestic violence. Dr. Johnson, Professor Emeritus, Arizona State University didn’t set out  to research officer-involved domestic violence. As a professor in African-American and Family Studies, she was looking to research women’s roles in the workplace. After running into roadblock after roadblock, she landed on studying police officers’ stress including their families.  In this conversation with David & Ruth, Dr. Johnson shares her insights and observations related to OIDV including her concerns for the health of police families, lack of support for police officers, and the connections between OIDV and police brutality.  

During this interview Dr. Johnson talks about:

• The connection between “authoritarian spillover,” OIDV and police brutality 
• The gender and race differences in her research 
• How police officers’ need for support and connection is central to addressing OIDV and excessive force problems

For those interested in learning more about her research you can email her directly at: [email protected]

To read more about how research you can read Alex Roslin’s book Police Wife

To listen to  the other episodes in this series:

• Episode 27: “How much crime are you willing to let your police commit?”: An interview with Lieutenant Detective Mark Wynn (Ret) and Police Chief Tom Tremblay (Ret)
• Episode 26: Listening to the voices of survivors of officer-involved domestic violence: An interview with Nanette Chezum
• Episode 25: When police officers commit domestic violence: Award winning journalist and author Alex Roslin on the global problem of officer-involved domestic violence

Now available! Mapping the Perpetrator’s Pattern: A Practitioner’s Tool for Improving Assessment, Intervention, and Outcomes The web-based Perpetrator Pattern Mapping Tool is a virtual practice tool for improving assessment, intervention, and outcomes through a perpetrator pattern-based approach. The tool allows practitioners to apply the Model’s critical concepts and principles to their current case load in real

Check out David Mandel's new book "Stop Blaming Mothers and Ignoring Fathers: How to transform the way we keep children safe from domestic violence."