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Anson Stevens-Bollen

Survivor Support

Domestic disturbance calls are up in Santa Fe. How are city leaders addressing the uptick?

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When Jose Antonio “Adrian” Roman shot and killed his ex-girlfriend and her son in Santa Fe County almost a year ago, it made headlines.

Warning signs were prevalent. The victim had already written a heartfelt plea for help, court records show.

“I want you all to please help me to get a restraining order against Jose Antonio Adrian Roman. He stopped being my partner as soon as he hit me. I don’t want to ever see him again in my life,” she wrote in Spanish in her petition seeking the order which forbade Roman from contacting her or her family in any way. “He threatened me and said, ‘Before you send me to the police, I’ll kill you first.’”

But that didn’t save the lives of Carmen Navarette or her teenage son, Axel Gonzales. Neither did a felony arrest warrant issued as a result of another violent incident just two weeks prior to Roman’s capture.

Domestic disturbance calls are on the rise in Santa Fe. According to data from the Santa Fe Police Department, dispatchers received 1,118 domestic disturbance calls between Jan. 1 and Sept. 5—the highest number of calls in the last four years. Additionally, research from the New Mexico Department of Health states approximately one in four adults reported experiencing domestic violence during their lifetime. But with new funding and programming opportunities in the works, help might be on the horizon. And it can’t come soon enough.

A 44-year-old domestic violence survivor who spoke with SFR anonymously for fear of retaliation, says his experience with domestic violence started off with name-calling.

Checking locations came next. Then strict oversight of finances, “things I never even thought of as being abuse,” he says. The couple spent roughly four-and-a-half years together before things turned violent. When the man attempted to leave, his former partner stabbed and strangled him, after which he was airlifted to an Albuquerque hospital.

“The doctor in the emergency room told me that most people see the violence has been going on for years, but it’s not really violent, and then it goes to the extreme,” the man says. “For it to go to the extreme the first time, it was very concerning to him as a medical professional. I know a lot of people say their partners are on alcohol or drugs—that was not the case with us. I don’t know. Maybe it was just something that snapped.”

Following the attack, the man spent three days intubated and a total of 10 days in the hospital. Concerned for his safety, he says, a doctor and a case manager recommended a shelter for domestic violence victims outside of Albuquerque.

With choices in Santa Fe County or Valencia County, the victim chose Santa Fe’s Esperanza Shelter because, he says, it was the only one with domestic abuse services and resources for men.

“I’m not saying that the other shelter doesn’t help. They do, but they put you in a hotel, so you’re in a totally different location,” he says. “You need more of a support system. You need counseling. You need therapy. You need resources to figure out what’s going to be your next step, not just a week in a hotel where, yeah, you’re physically safe, but is that really getting anything done?”

New Mexico is not a “victim-oriented” state, according to the man, who adds that access to resources and legal recourse following the attack were scarce. He also says there is a misconception that abuse only affects women and children.

“It’s almost like the person [who] does it, I’m not saying they get away with it, but it’s almost like the person [who] was victimized…has to jump through a whole bunch of hoops to get things done,” he explains. “Meanwhile, the person [who] did it, well, they just have to sit back and wait to see if you’re going to do the hoops, and they’re betting that you’re not going to do the hoops. It’s just a very backward situation.”

With the help of a new federal Violence Against Women Act Fund grant, city leaders are looking at ways to change that perception. City officials received $63,938 with a required match of $21,313 from the city for a 10-month internal position in the Youth and Family Services Division dedicated to domestic violence response.

CYFD Director Julie Sanchez tells SFR the future domestic violence response specialist will help fill a gap in local services.

“It’s been a really long time since we’ve actually had city employees doing this work, so this is a big chance for the city to really make a difference in how we respond to domestic violence,” Sanchez says. “Addressing community and youth violence is one of our biggest priorities, and this definitely fits within that scope.”

Domestic violence expert Leila Kelly works alongside Sanchez and will lead the “programming and best practices” of the new position, she tells SFR. Kelly notes the new domestic violence response specialist forms part of a larger vision to create a domestic violence response team within the CYFD.

“I think it’s important to note that we are hoping to really utilize the position with the city to help navigate all of the different systems within the community,” Kelly says. “We don’t have a lot of direct service support for survivors of domestic violence. It’s very difficult to get a lot of advocacy support, a lot of case management support, so this position is really meant to help start to spearhead this very noticeable gap in our community.”

The City Council and the mayor unanimously approved the money at the Sept. 25 governing body meeting. City officials will now work to fill the position, the Youth and Family Services director says.

Sanchez adds the city team is working on submitting a grant application in the spring for recurring funding to continue supporting the position and potentially create new ones for the desired domestic violence response team.

Santa Fe Police Chief Paul Joye tells SFR that while officers are routinely trained to deal with dangerous situations related to domestic violence, they aren’t experts in services after securing a scene.

“These advocates hopefully will be able to come in, and they will be more skilled and knowledgeable than we are in counseling and all the explaining of the services and just to be there with that person to guide them through what the expectations are going to be, what the next steps are going to be,” Joye says. “If we just give them a card referring them to services, they may or may not make that call, but they should make that call, but they sometimes either talk themselves out of it, or their friend or family does for whatever reason. When we bring this person, they are the resource for you, and they’re here for you to help you move through and get through this situation.”

Currently, Joye says, officers are required to receive training on how to respond to domestic violence situations during the academy followed by biannual refresher courses.

“We talk about all the things that can and have happened and get a lot of statistics and data and body-worn camera video of what happens when officers are not practicing safe tactics, because you can’t really let your guard down too much and you can’t let yourself be complacent in these types of calls,” he says, noting officers also learn about the statutory expectations and the legal proceedings that follow.

SFPD Officers Corey White and Manuel Romero tell SFR law enforcement receives multiple calls related to domestic violence incidents in each shift. Though each situation varies, White says responding to these types of calls can be dangerous for everyone involved—including officers.

“They can be scary. You’re going to the unknown, and it’s also based on the information that the dispatch provides us. Sometimes they’re actively fighting or there’s a weapon involved, and some can be just verbal,” White says. “Regardless, we do take domestic violence very seriously, and we’re going to respond. We’re going to make sure we get there and restore order there. But the stress level and your sense of security can vary. You’re looking at everybody, and you want to protect those involved in the domestic conflict and make sure they’re safe as well as officers.”

Romero says police should always have a role in dealing with domestic violence, but with the aid of a new domestic violence response team, officers can continue answering other calls.

“We will still have all these other crimes that are occurring, so we can get back to doing that—which we’re probably better at—and that new person can maybe stay behind with this individual,” Romero says.

The latest crime statistics show officers made 173 assault arrests in August. In 2024, SFPD has made 1,226 assault arrests so far, according to the same data.

“More than half of our assault arrests are related to domestic violence every month,” Joye says.

New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence Executive Director MaryEllen Garcia tells SFR members of the organization support “having systems in place that can respond to survivors where they access the system,” adding data shows 40 percent of people experiencing intimate-partner violence reach out to law enforcement.

“To [not only] have advocates trained who are working with law enforcement that can not only be there to provide that crisis stabilization and connect survivors to community-based programs and the services that they need, but also to bridge that gap and provide that education for law enforcement, it really improves the system,” Garcia says. “It improves offender accountability and it improves survivor access to safety. If we can educate and put systems in place where survivors can access the resources that they need to stop the violence in their homes, that’s what we would want…We have to recognize that law enforcement is just one piece of the entire systemic and community response to intimate-partner violence.”

To that point, Esperanza Shelter CEO Jan McCray says the intersection of domestic violence and homelessness is “incredibly high” in Santa Fe. Data from the National Network to End Domestic Violence shows approximately 53% of unmet requests for services in New Mexico were for emergency shelter, hotels, motels, transitional housing and other housing. Looking nationally, data from Safe Housing Partnerships shows 80% of unhoused mothers previously experienced domestic violence, and 57% of all unhoused women reported domestic violence was the immediate cause of their homelessness. McCray says that picture stacks up with the situation locally, where affordable housing struggles continue to build.

“People who have experienced domestic violence will often contact us because they have nowhere to go,” she says. “What we find here in Santa Fe higher than some of the other areas is just the lack of housing that’s available. I don’t believe, to be completely transparent, safe affordable housing is something that’s really an option in Santa Fe.”

In March 2019, the City of Santa Fe joined efforts from the Built for Zero team, an initiative from nonprofit organization Community Solutions meant to end homelessness for various populations. A June count of unhoused individuals in the city found the number of people experiencing homelessness could be anywhere from 279 to 471 based on various data collecting systems. The New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness relies most heavily on coordinated entry system data, which captures unhoused individuals accessing services—even informal ones like receiving a meal. That number, provided in partnership with various service providers, found 163 single adults; 23 youth; 27 families; and 10 veterans experiencing homelessness in Santa Fe.

Joey Hinkle, the domestic violence navigator for the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, tells SFR while homelessness and domestic violence “are very different,” communities like Santa Fe are notable due to the “added pressure of a constricted housing market” that can lead individuals who may have otherwise fled to stay with abusive partners.

“Both homelessness and domestic violence are experiences of trauma that can often be stigmatized and misunderstood by the average person and both forms place an individual at greater risk of experiencing the other form of trauma,” Hinkle says. “We see a strong correlation for several reasons, but most importantly, abusers often take a ‘if I’m losing, we’re losing’ approach in the sense that when relationships are breaking down or someone starts to take steps towards leaving an abusive partner, that partner might resort to any means possible to cause problems in the survivor’s life. When things unfortunately get to that point, it is rare for survivors to have all of the resources they need to immediately rent another apartment or find another place to stay.”

The Esperanza Shelter resident says his experience shows the need for more funding and resources specifically related to domestic violence for those who may not land in a hospital and receive the benefit of a case worker or a doctor.

“A lot of people in these situations don’t end up in a hospital. It doesn’t get that severe, and so then they have to navigate it by themselves, and it could be very hard to do that,” he says. “I mean, I would think that I would never have heard of this place if I was doing it by myself.”

DV PROSECUTION STRUGGLES

Which came first: New Mexico ranking slightly above the national average in domestic abuse cases or the backlog currently in state courts?

Regardless of the answer or the number of inherent complications these cases carry, advocates believe solutions are available. New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence Executive Director MaryEllen Garcia tells SFR that communities with “a strong, coordinated systemic response” show reduced rates of violence. According to the New Mexico Interpersonal Violence Data Central Repository, New Mexico ranks 23rd in the country for women who have experienced intimate partner violence, and 16th for men. Among the most common complications in a domestic abuse case are victims who don’t cooperate.

“It’s challenging,” says Santa Fe Police Chief Paul Joye. “I’ve had my own cases where the victim will come out and outright be deceptive when we go to court.”

Joye says he’s had to testify against both suspect and victim in the past because of how “they’ve changed (their story) since the arrest.”

A 2020 University of New Mexico Institute of Social Research study shows cases involving domestic aggravated assault are less likely to be prosecuted than other crimes, and successful domestic abuse convictions tend to be misdemeanor counts, lowering the likelihood of incarceration. The study also shows defendants tried in central New Mexico face significantly lower odds of prosecution. Joye believes getting victims and survivors into services and support sooner will build better cases and break the cycle, “so that they can get on with their lives.”

Among the services Garcia urges is the use of a lethality assessment. She says, advocates and law enforcement employ a series of questions to measure the level of danger for victims of domestic violence. Esperanza Shelter Chief Executive Officer Jan McCray tells SFR everyone in the 30-bed shelter undergoes a lethality assessment during their maximum 90-day stay. The scores range from one to 11—11 representing highest risk. McCray notes the average score in Santa Fe for shelter residents is an eight, and the risk only increases when a survivor takes the step to leave.

She says scores like these suggest Santa Fe has domestic violence challenges comparable to large cities; however, “there aren’t enough resources in a smaller town to meet the need.”

McCray, who helps operate a shelter that specifically serves those fleeing domestic violence, believes housing is always the number one need, but lack of court intervention and fear can weigh heavily on people attempting to leave an abusive relationship.

“All of these things play a role in a person’s decision to stay or go, and it’s never that easy,” McCray says. “It’s never black and white. It’s a million shades of gray.”

DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE CALLS IN SANTA FE OVER THE YEARS

  • Jan. 1  -  Sept. 5, 2024:  1,118
  • Jan. 1  -  Sept. 5, 2023:   999
  • Jan. 1  -  Sept. 5, 2022:   934
  • Jan. 1  -   Sept. 5, 2021:  1,011

INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE RATES

  • Women (New Mexico): 37.6%
  • Men (New Mexico): 33.3%
  • Women (National): 37.3%
  • Men (National): 30.9%

INTERSECTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND HOMELESSNESS

  • 80% of unhoused women with children reported having previously experienced domestic violence
  • 57% of all unhoused women cited domestic violence as the immediate cause of their homelessness
  • Over 41,000 adults and children fled domestic violence and found refuge in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program
  • 7,914 requests by domestic violence survivors for housing were unmet due to lack of funding, staffing or other resources (Emergency shelters and transitional housing were the most urgent unmet need for survivors)