INDIANAPOLIS — The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD), and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced a new initiative aimed at reducing domestic violence in Indianapolis. The Law Enforcement Action to Halt Domestic Violence Against Men, Women, and Children (LEATH) initiative is named after fallen IMPD Officer Breann Leath, a 2.5-year veteran of the department who lost her life to gunfire in April while responding to a call for help from a domestic disturbance.
The LEATH initiative will aim to identify domestic violence offenders who are found to commit a crime with an illegally-possessed firearm, targeting them for federal prosecution. The effort will identify individuals with a history of domestic violence:
• Have a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction
• Are the subject of a final protective order
• Have a state or federal felony conviction
Federal law prohibits serious violent felons and individuals with previous misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence from possessing firearms or ammunition. A federal conviction for an individual with a previous misdemeanor domestic violence conviction who is found to have illegally-possessed a firearm carries with it up to 10 years in federal prison.
The LEATH initiative also aims to support domestic violence survivors, coordinating victims and witness services in partnership with local, state, and community-based social service agencies. The program joins ongoing efforts to address domestic violence in the Indianapolis community, including a partnership between the City and the Domestic Violence Network to provide safe housing for survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Domestic violence numbers have climbed in Indianapolis during the COVID-19 pandemic: 6,664 domestic violence radio runs occurred in the first quarter of 2020, more than double the 3,130 runs that occurred during the same period in 2019.
