Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 10 · column 5 of 7 · from the scan, no model involved
By DAPHNE HUTCHINSON
Rappahannock News Contributing Writer
Spouse abuse is not just the most unreported crime in Rappahannock County; it is also the most potentially dangerous for local law enforcement, according to Sheriff John Henry Woodward.
Here, the sheriff and his deputies face few armed robbers and even fewer murderers. But the odds are that every week they’ll be called to the scene of domestic violence. “We’ve had 35 incidents (of wife battering) - reported incidents - since the first of the year,” Woodward said. “It’s a bad situation for the police. You get to the house and a man and a wife are going at it, punching each other. Your tendency is to grab him off. But then SHE thinks you’re going to hurt him and she jumps on you, too, and you’ve got two of them beating on you. ”
Woodward acknowledged that, to date, no Rappahannock deputy has sustained serious injury in separating domestic combatants, but he added that his men are specially trained to handle the situation. “Every deputy has taken a whole course in crisis intervention (at the Shenandoah Criminal Justice Training Center). They stage mock domestic problems. It’s not the real thing but it helps prepare you.”
94.5%