SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- On any given day, Deputy Luke Bickford will respond to a domestic-related call.
“The frustrating part is not the fact that we have to keep going, it’s the fact of what can we do. Our hands are tied,” said Deputy Luke Bickford of the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office.
He says the Onondaga County Sheriff Office gets 10 to 20 domestic calls a day-- each call presents endless challenges.
“We know it’s dangerous so we have to use our tactics to do it appropriately, do what’s safest for us while stopping what’s happening inside and making it safe for everyone inside,” said Deputy Bickford.
Reporter: “In your career how often have you seen it escalate?”
Bickford: “It always escalates. If it’s a house we go too often, it always gets worse at some point,” answered Deputy Bickford.
“It was eventually learned through the admission of her husband that he was responsible for her death,” said Onondaga County Sheriff Eugene Conway, at a January press conference.
In January in the town of Lysander, it got worse.
“Law enforcement agencies overall, to include us, have responded to that address over the past well, 18 years, almost a dozen times on calls that relate to domestic violence.”
Pete Trifunoski admitted to beating his wife Suzie Trifunoski to death.
He then put her body in a storage locker, according to the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office.
And one month later, thirty miles west, it got worse again.
“It is the worst outcome you could have for a domestic violence incident,” said Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood.
In February, Amy Silwowski was killed by her boyfriend at their Bridgeport home before he turned the gun on himself.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office had responded to their home several times in the past.
Reporter: “If the law had maybe enhanceable domestic violence offenses, do you think you would see different outcomes?”
Sheriff Hood: “The laws in New York state they’re made, they’ve been around to handle things like this. But things like this happen, it’s not acceptable but people go above and beyond in the crimes they commit all the time. The laws are there, the charges are there once they commit them and we enforce the laws we have to work with in the state of New York.”
For police, domestic related calls are some of the most dangerous. When they arrive to these homes several times before a tragedy happens, the calls are often for violation level offenses. Meaning the victim would have to ask officers to make an arrest.
“If the victim’s not cooperating and says I don’t want him arrested for this that’s where our hands are tied. We can’t do anything at that point besides take the statement and hope that eventually the victim agrees to help themselves or allow us to help them or hopefully it gets escalated to a point where we can help them,” said Deputy Bickford.
Reporter: “Do you think a change in law, in New York State, would help in these cases at all?”
Deputy Bickford: “It could go both ways because it could get better because there’s certain percentage of people that are victims that would call those three or four times before it upgrades but it could also be worse because I'm not going to call this time because this is the time the arrest is being made. I’m not an elected official to think about these things but it can’t keep the same. It’s not going well the way it’s going now.”
While it does not deal with all domestic violence cases, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Abused Persons Unit specializes in sexual violence cases and domestic violence cases involving children.
The unit participates in the domestic violence “Resolve” program with Vera House.