Domestic Violence Cases Still High Two Years After Pandemic

Cases of domestic violence have increased since the pandemic and are still high today.

And after another weekend that saw a Gaylord man arrested for attempting to attack his ex-girlfriend, people are wondering if it’s getting worse.

Brandon Clifton was arrested Saturday by Michigan State Police after he threw a rock at a moving truck hurting a young girl. Troopers say Clifton threw the rock on McCoy Road in Bagley Township at a truck with his ex-girlfriend and her two children inside it. Police say the rock bounced off the truck and hit a van, going through the windshield and hurting a seven-year-old girl inside.

Lieutenant Derrick Carroll with the Michigan State Police says the girls injuries were minor, but says they could’ve been much worse had she not been in the back seat.

“In this situation had she been in the front seat, this may have turned out much worse and we may have had a fatality,” Lt. Carroll says.

The Women’s Resource Center of Traverse City Executive Director, Juliette Schultz, says last weekend’s incident and some deadly cases we’ve seen over the summer in Roscommon, Mecosta and Oceana counties are examples of the damage domestic violence can do.

“When there is violence there’s always unintended consequences,” Schultz states. “Domestic violence can traumatize so many people who are related or connected to the survivor or the victim.”

The Women’s Resource Center says they’ve seen an uptick in the number of crisis calls since the pandemic. Over the past two years their crisis calls have increased by 40 percent.

They say their door is always open and they’re always ready to help protect families.

“There’s a perception that it won’t happen to me, but it can happen to anybody. Doesn’t matter how you identify, it doesn’t matter your socioeconomics, your demographics, non of that matters when it comes to domestic violence. So, we’re here to help and we’re here 24/7,” Schultz says.