The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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  • Enid Police Department Detective Jeff Weber demonstrates to Oklahoma Play Therapy owner Connie O’Brien how an ALS Light and goggles would be used to detect bruising beneath the surface of the skin. O’Brien has donated a kit to EPD and the county’s sexual assault nurse examiner. (Staff photo by CASS RAINS)

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January 26, 2011

EPD adds another tool in domestic violence fight

By Cass Rains, Staff Writer Enid News and Eagle

ENID — Enid Police Department has another tool in its arsenal to fight domestic violence, thanks to the owner of Oklahoma Play Therapy Counseling Center.

The Alternative Light Source equipment, which consists of a special flashlight and goggles, will allow investigators of domestic violence to see and document bruising before it appears on the skin’s surface.

EPD’s Domestic Violence Investigator, Jeff Weber, said bruising doesn’t immediately appear in about 25 percent of cases of domestic violence.

“It’s a tool we can use where suspects hide behind the fact we can’t see bruising,” Weber said. “It’s another tool in our arsenal.”

Sgt. Greg Gordon said it sometimes can take 24 to 48 hours before bruising presents itself to the naked eye.

It was last year members of Enid’s Coordinated Community Response team, a multi-disciplinary task force for domestic violence, learned of the technology.

Connie O’Brien, owner of Oklahoma Play Therapy Counseling Center,  purchased the Alternative Light Source equipment for the department and one for Garfield County’s sexual assault nurse examiner.

“We got a price and it was within our budget,” she said. “And we love to help people.”

The instrument uses a different wave length of light than other lights. By shining the light on a suspected injured area, whoever is wearing the goggles can see the bruising before it appears on the skin. The dual-purpose tool also can be used to show biological evidence, using different goggles, that may otherwise go unseen.

“We have to be able to document a visible injury,” Gordon said of making a domestic violence arrest. “One of the goals of our team was to get this light so we could put perpetrators in jail.”

“I am definitely looking forward to the ALS Light assisting in stronger convictions,” said YWCA Crisis Center Director Shalonda Kearney.

EPD Chief Brian O’Rourke said he hopes the new tool will make victim’s more likely to report abuse, even if the injuries aren’t yet visible.

“It gives more incentive for the victims to come forward,” O’Rourke said. “We encourage any victim to come forward.”

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