Sanders County law enforcement officers honored

Sanders County Coalition For Families (SCCFF) and Limberlost Brewery on Wednesday hosted this year’s law enforcement appreciation Ceremony. Several law enforcement officers and a member of the Thompson Falls ambulance service were honored for their work with victims of domestic violence.

Detective April Phillips, deputies Devin Wegener and Richard Woods, Plains Police Chief Brian Josephson and Thompson Falls Ambulance EMT Jason Thornton each received recognition for their exemplary service to victims of intimate partner violence.

Sanders County Coalition For Families is an organization that provides comprehensive services to victims of crime, focusing on victims of domestic and sexual violence, child abuse and stalking. Founded in 1993, they have been funded through federal and state grant programs with support from private foundations and donations. Kayla Torres, Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator at SCFF, was on hand to organize the event, along with Executive Director Gayle Seratt.

SCFF provides services for victims of domestic violence including but not limited to, professional crisis counseling, rape crisis service, criminal justice support, emergency financial assistance, emergency shelter, transportation and food bank help. They work closely with Sanders County law enforcement agencies.

On hand at the awards ceremony were Sheriff Shawn Fielders, Undersheriff Jerry Johnson and Sanders County Attorney Naomi Leisz. Leisz, with SCFF Executive Director Seratt by her side, spoke about the Sanders County Domestic Violence Response Team, first organized in 2020. The goal of the team was to develop a coordinated response to domestic violence and create a team with other community agencies to develop a multi-disciplinary team now called SCDVRT.

Over the past two years, the team has worked on creating guidelines outlining how they will address domestic violence with community partners in law enforcement. Those guidelines have been shared with city police, schools and the Sheriff’s Office.

Leisz said, “Our team is tasked with protecting victims of domestic violent crime and I believe all of our partners are committed to that goal.”

Leisz said she has seen a large uptick in domestic violent cases coming across her desk this year, with many involving strangulation, which involves 70% of domestic violence cases.

Partner assault statistics for the years 2018 through 2022 have seen an increase of 175%. Sexual intercourse without consent/Sexual assault cases have increased 100% over the same years. Domestic Violence assaults, involving strangulations, have increased 500% since 2018.