Topeka repeals domestic violence ordinance

TAMPA - Tuesday night, the Topeka mayor and city council voted to repeal the city's ordinance against domestic violence.

The move forces Shawnee County to prosecute the cases, for which the district attorney claims they lack the funds.

Opponents call it a sad day for Topeka. Tampa Bay area attorney Natalie Baird, calls it a scary one.

"If I was a victim of domestic violence, the last place I'd want to be living right now is Topeka, Kansas," Baird said.

Baird and other advocates worry that victims listening to the debate may not fully understand that domestic violence is still against the law in Kansas. That in all the noise and legal jargon, victims will only hear one thing.

"It sends a message, 'This really isn't a crime,'" Baird said.

It may send another message to law enforcement.

"We're only here to enforce the laws people provide us. If those laws are vague and unclear, it's very stressful for us," Hillsborough County Sheriff Spokesperson Larry McKinnon said. "If those laws are unclear, it makes our job, already a difficult job, even more difficult."

The decision by Topeka's city council to remove its domestic violence ordinance may only affect misdemeanor abuse, but Baird says most abuse doesn't start as a felony.

She knows because that's not how it started with her.

"Slapped me. Pushed me down to the ground. These were all misdemeanors," Baird said.

Eventually, a felony came when her boyfriend broke her arm.

Baird says it was time apart from her abuser when forced to jail, and confidence that he'd be prosecuted, which gave her the opportunity and the strength to leave.

"And quite frankly, if the prosecution's office here in Tampa decided, 'Hey, we don't actually have the budget to do that,' I don't know if I ever would've gotten out," she said.

The district attorney in Shawnee County, Kansas claims he will still prosecute domestic violence cases in Topeka, but some wonder whether that will really be a priority if there's no ordinance to enforce it.