Alecia Pawloski and her mother, Barbara Schrum, when Pawloski was a teenager.
Submitted
Barbara Schrum died trying to help a friend. This new law could have saved her
Schrum's daughter thinks a law-enforcement escort can protect people in some domestic violence situations
-
Ed Mahon
Submitted
Alecia Pawloski and her mother, Barbara Schrum, when Pawloski was a teenager.
About four years ago, Laurie Kuykendall left her husband and the northern York County home they once shared.
But there were items in the home that she wanted: things like personal identification cards and sewing equipment for her work as a seamstress.
She was scared of what he might do if she returned.
She asked law enforcement agencies if they’d send someone with her, but they turned her down, her family has said.
So she asked a friend, 55-year-old Barbara Schrum.
They went to the home. Kuykendall’s husband, Martin Kepner, was there and killed them both. Then the 60-year-old shot himself.
Domestic violence advocates say it all the time: The most dangerous time for an abuse victim is when they are leaving the relationship.
“Having a police escort, I think, would have saved my mom’s life. Absolutely,” said Alecia Pawloski, one of Schrum’s daughters.
Submitted
Barbara Schrum, second from the left, with her children: Matt Armold, Alecia Pawloski and Becky Peters.
A recently passed bill aims to provide increased protection to people in that situation. House Bill 2060 passed out of the House with a 131-62 vote and out of the Senate by a larger margin: 43-5. Gov. Tom Wolf is expected to sign it.
Much of the debate over the legislation focused on whether it infringed too much on gun rights.
The bill speeds up the time that people have to give up guns after they’ve been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, or had a final protection-from-abuse order approved against them. And they can no longer hand over the gun to a friend or family member.
But the legislation also makes it easier for domestic violence victims to receive an escort from state police, municipal police or the sheriff’s office to retrieve personal belongings. Now, the plaintiffs in protection-from-abuse cases can inform the court if they have reason to believe their safety is at risk. Then they can receive a law enforcement escort to retrieve belongings.
‘A big change’
Todd Spivak, an Allegheny County attorney whose firm specializes in PFA cases, said the new procedures are “a big change.”
The issue of what to do with belongings is common in protection-from-abuse cases. A judge can describe how the two sides should exchange items.
But Spivak said it’s rare for a judge to order a law enforcement escort to retrieve belongings.
A judge can order a specific date and time for one side to pick up items. Spivak said defendants are often the ones who need to pick up belongings because they’ve been evicted from the home.
He said he tells defendants that they should pay for a constable to help arrange a pick-up time and to attend the pick-up. That typically costs about $75 to $125 in his area, Spivak said.
Spivak said the change in state law under House Bill 2060 appears to be “a good common-sense” move, “though it may drain police resources in a way that’s unintended.”
In 2016, there were about 38,100 protection-from-abuse cases processed, and about 13,500 of them ended with a final order approved after a hearing or an agreement between the two parties.
Karen Kuykendall Nordsick stitched “Never Go Back” onto a golf towel as part of a fundraiser for domestic violence services. Her sister was killed in May 2015.
When it comes to costs, an analysis by the House Appropriations Committee focused on storing guns — not on providing escorts. Even then, the analysis said, the costs were unknown.
The Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association was neutral on House Bill 2060 — it had concerns about the cost of storing guns, said executive director Thomas M. Maioli Jr. He said the escort provision wasn’t one of the group’s concerns.
Some sheriff’s offices already provide escorts, he said. Maioli hasn’t discussed that escort change in detail with sheriffs, but wasn’t expecting it to have a large impact.
Pennsylvania State Police does not normally provide escorts for retrieval of belongings, said spokesman Ryan Tarkowski. “However, we are capable of providing that assistance if mandated by HB 2060,” Tarkowski said.
Julie Bancroft, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the new provision formalizes the process statewide and closes a gap.
“We know there’s extreme risk,” Bancroft said.
In Kuykendall’s case, she never applied for a protection-from-abuse order. She was too scared that doing so would set off her husband, according to her sister, Karen Kuykendall Nordsick.
But Nordsick thinks the increased protections in House Bill 2060 will make victims more likely to seek a PFA.
“They know that there’s more options out there, and more help to keep them safe,” she said.
Pawloski, one of Schrum’s daughters, agrees.
“I think victims are going to see PFAs then as more than just a piece of paper. …They’ll see it as stronger for them,” Pawloski said.
Lasting impact
The deaths of Kuykendall and Schrum have taken a toll on their families. And their families have tried to help other domestic violence victims.
Months after their deaths, Pawloski spoke at the state Capitol.
She talked about how her mother would never go to her children’s weddings, never become a grandmother, never be able to pick up another phone call, never be able to offer any needed advice on how to keep plants alive.
Pawloski, who lives in Bel Air, Md., now volunteers with a local domestic violence agency. If a sexual assault or domestic violence victim shows up to the hospital, Pawloski is available to offer support.
Submitted
Alecia Pawloski and her mother, Barbara Schrum, are seen in this photo when Pawloski was a child. Pawloski, now 34, volunteers to help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Her inspiration is her mother, who was killed in May 2015 when she tried to help a friend retrieve belongings from an abuser.
Nordsick, 45, lives in Florida now. There are too many reminders in Pennsylvania of what happened to her sister.
“It really hits me, when I go up there. Everything just all comes back. And it’s just right in my face,” Nordsick said. “…I wasn’t living. I wasn’t healing. I was just depressed all the time.”
They’ve both advocated for the expansion of the lethality assessment tool — a series of questions that help officers determine the level of risk in domestic violence cases. Advocates for those lethality assessments say they help officers provide more resources to domestic violence victims.
Legislation aimed at boosting that expansion has been in the House Judiciary Committee since March 2017 and hasn’t come up for any votes. House Bill 175 would require police officers to receive training for assessing the lethality risk when responding to domestic violence calls, and it would also establish a grant program for police departments.
Nordsick is really hoping that proposal becomes law someday. She thinks House Bill 2060 is a great step. But she said lethality assessments would help people sooner, before they ever apply for a PFA order.
The two measures “would work hand-in-hand,” Nordsick said.
Ed Mahon / PA Post
Supporters of legislation to increase gun restrictions in protection-from-abuse and domestic violence cases rally at the state Capitol in Harrisburg on Sept. 24, 2018.
Related Stories
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
