CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – After growing up in a household where domestic violence was a daily occurrence, Thomas Norup said he can’t help but get involved when the shouting and screaming starts in his neighborhood.

“My mother and father got divorced (when I was young),” he said. “Things were really good, then my mom met this guy who was an alcoholic; things went downhill from there.”

Since Norup has been living in his Clarksville neighborhood, he said, there have been several cases of domestic violence that he can’t ignore.

“My day is pretty much the same: I get up, have coffee and play video games,” he said, noting that he is disabled. “In the evening, I watch Netflix or Hulu.” But on some nights, he said, as he tries to watch TV, yells and screams pierce the air, and Norup steps outside to assist.

“It is tough for me to not get involved,” he said

Norup said each time, the authorities are called. But if the people involved in the dispute don’t answer the door, the police don’t do anything. “(The police) will knock (on the door of the residence) three or four times, and if someone doesn’t answer the door, they just leave,” he said.

Norup said to further complicate matters, most people in his neighborhood don’t want to speak to the authorities. “When people see the blue lights, they all run to their homes,” he said.

Complicated situation for police

Clarksville Police spokesperson Officer Scott Beaubien said these situations are complicated.

“There are a lot of what-ifs,” he said. “Some people might tell you one thing, someone might tell us something different,” he said, noting that if there is no credible evidence of an assault, the authorities really have nothing to go on.

“We have to have reasonable suspicion a crime was committed,” he said. “We have to have cooperation from the victim.”

Beaubien recalled a case from years ago when he was on patrol and the hospital called because a woman had been beaten up. “She wouldn’t tell us anything, and wouldn’t cooperate, so we couldn’t do anything,” he said.

“The safety of the people is priority; if it is a domestic case, the preferred response is someone is going to jail,” Beaubien said, “normally for a 12-hour hold, which is a cooling-off period. And upon condition of release there is automatically a no-contact order.

“In these cases, the best thing to do is call 911 and report it to the police,” Beaubien said.

Proving the cases is a bit more difficult, he said. “If an assault doesn’t take place in our presence, it’s hard to prove.”

Beaubien said there is hope. Victims can get an ex-parte or order of protection; if the abuser gets caught and charged, protections are already in place. “If someone breaks the no contact order, they go to jail automatically,” he said.

Help for victims in Clarksville

“There are resources for those who are stuck in a domestic violence situation,” said Megan Setter, program director for Urban Ministries Safehouse.

Safehouse offers both residential and outpatient services, she said, noting there are two Legal Aid attorneys who assist.

“For those needing residential services, we start with giving them 30 days, then with an extension, up to six months as long as they are moving toward their case management goals,” she said.

Setter said in the last year their facility has seen a marked increase in calls to the emergency hotline number. “Last year there were 618 calls, and this year we have seen 969 calls, which is a 56.8 percent increase,” she said.

“I think it’s different here in Clarksville due to the rapid development, the population increase, and being next to Fort Campbell Army base,” Setter said.

Of the hundreds of calls they received last year, they served 162 clients, she said, noting this year, due to their facility relocation, those numbers have decreased.

“We only have the capacity to house 16 clients,” Setter said, adding that when the new facility is completed, Safehouse will be able to house 44 people, including women with children.

One resident’s reaction

Norup said as the neighborhood continues to experience disturbances at night, it makes him think about solutions.

“There is a lot of domestic violence here,” he said. “Within the first year and a half that I moved here, I witnessed four of those instances.” Norup said he saw one woman who had been beaten so badly, she was running through the parking lot screaming, barely able to see.

Complaints to the landlord who owns the rental property have yielded no results. “She doesn’t care. As long as people pay rent, she isn’t worried about it.”

But Norup said he worries about it, and the disruptions in the neighborhood trigger memories of his childhood.

“I remember having to fight my people off in my sleep,” he said. “One night we were in the car with my mom’s boyfriend. He had gotten mad and threatened to hit a semi-truck head on with all of us in the car,” he said.

Norup said his mom’s boyfriend also once held a gun to his head.

Moving isn’t an option for Norup, because he lives on a fixed income.

He added his personal experience with domestic violence and the cases he has witnessed recently have made him think anger management classes are necessary for those convicted of domestic violence.

“Alcohol rehab should be mandatory also, or spend 11 months and 29 days in jail,” he said. “Especially if the man just keeps doing the same thing and won’t let go.”

To get help

Anyone suffering domestic violence should call the Safehouse hotline at 931-552-6900. Counselors will do an intake assessment to see if the caller needs residential or non-residential services, Setter said. “Clients are then referred to a case manager who does the intake and helps with needs and safety planning.”

For more, go to the Safehouse website.

If your situation is an emergency, call 911.