The author is the president of the Wilton Domestic Violence Task Force.
Last week the Domestic Violence Crisis Center (DVCC) held its 15th Annual Voices of Courage Spring Luncheon. It is their biggest fundraising event of the year that draws advocates, public servants and private citizens together to celebrate and support the much-needed good work of the DVCC. It is an opportunity for the DVCC to show how their civil legal clinics, counseling, safe houses, job training, medical advocacy and PeaceWorks training within the schools, are making a difference in the seven communities in which they serve, including Wilton.
Every year there is a featured speaker; this year we were fortunate enough to hear a very compelling story from Joshua Safran, an attorney who took a pro bono case for Deborah Peagler who was serving a life sentence for killing her abusive boyfriend. Their legal odyssey became the subject of the award-winning documentary film, Crime After Crime, (currently being featured on Netflix).
What made this year’s luncheon even more special was that our own Captain Rob Cipolla, of the Wilton Police Department, was awarded the Kathy Kincaid Award: Putting Others First. This award is not given annually but given to special individuals who have shown dedication above and beyond to victims of intimate partner violence. Rob has been the liaison between the DVCC and the Wilton Police department for the past two years. He also serves on the town task force and has initiated fundraising events for the DVCC.
As it the luncheon program read: “Captain Rob Cipolla consistently goes above and beyond the traditional parameters of [the] role [of liaison].” Described by a DVCC attorney advocate as “not only super responsive but also very proactive,” Cipolla makes every effort to ensure that Wilton police officers properly handle cases of domestic violence, make arrests where appropriate and help victims seek assistance. He encourages officers to screen victims by using the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) questionnaire and to connect them with DVCC services even if they don’t immediately present as being high risk of danger from their abusers. And he will promptly call DVCC advocates if he has concerns about a victim.
The fact that there has been only one dual arrest in Wilton in the past year is compelling evidence that Cipolla understands the complicated nature of domestic violence and actively strives to ensure justice and safety for victims.” Dual arrests in domestic violence cases are when the abused are arrested alongside their abusers when officers have difficulty determining the aggressive/instigator of the incident. The reduction of dual arrests down to one may not seem like a big deal, but it is.
As Rachelle Kucera Mehra, the DVCC executive director, stated in her remarks, there was a time not too long ago when the dual arrest rate in our surrounding towns was above 30%. When a victim of domestic violence finds themselves being arrested alongside their abuser–what are the chances of them calling for help the next time they are being assaulted? The efforts throughout all police departments to assess accurately ensures that assailants get arrested and victims get the assistance that is critical.
And as Captain Cipolla so eloquently stated in his acceptance speech, his work has been fostered and supported by Wilton Police Chief John Lynch and the incredible officers of the Wilton Police Department.
Since Captain Cipolla became the police liaison for the task force, after his predecessors, Lieutenant Stephen Brennan and Captain Tom Conlon, his involvement has been critical in our efforts to raise money and spread awareness. He even served on the panel for our February Presentation of “The Hunting Ground” at Wilton Library. It was a proud moment for Wilton townspeople, especially the members of Wilton Social Services and the Task Force, when Captain Rob Cipolla stepped up to the podium to receive his award. We all applaud Rob for the well-deserved recognition and for a job well done!
From the program description of the award and Cipolla:
Putting Others First: The Kathy Kincaid Award
As the domestic violence liaison between the Wilton Police Department and DVCC for the past two years, [Capt.] Rob Cipolla consistently goes above and beyond the traditional parameters of that role. Described by a DVCC attorney advocate as “not only super responsive, but also very proactive,” Cipolla makes every effort to ensure that Wilton police officers properly handle cases of domestic violence, make arrests where appropriate and help victims to seek assistance. He encourages officers to screen victims by using the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) questionnaire and to connect them with DVCC services even if they don’t immediately present as being in high risk of danger from their abusers. And he will promptly call DVCC advocates if he has concerns about a victim. The fact that there has been only one dual arrest in Wilton in the past year is compelling evidence that Cipolla understands the complicated nature of domestic violence and actively strives to ensure justice and safety for victims.
An active member of the Wilton Domestic Violence Task Force, Cipolla is a familiar face in the community through his coordination of or participation in awareness-raising events, panel discussions on domestic violence and teen dating violence and fundraisers to benefit DVCC. Further, he has partnered with DVCC legal staff to conduct trainings during our Educational Seminars, whereby he provides vital information from the perspective of law enforcement. During one of those trainings, he told the group that being the DV liaison and working with DVCC has been one of the highlights of his career.
Rob Cipolla truly understands the value of working proactively with domestic violence advocates in order to safeguard the health and safety of victims, their children and the community at large.