When I was a little kid, my mom was abused regularly by my step dad. The cops were so jaded by domestic abuse calls, in general, that they just didn't have any fucks to give. Let me share with you, a story.

So, my step dad was beating my mom bloody, like usual when he was drunk, and she called the police. The police show up, and she's obviously beaten, and they tell my mom she needs to stop wasting their time; they ask her what she wants them to do? She says she wants them to arrest the step dad for abuse.

The ask him if he hit her. He answers no. They tell my mom, "Well, we don't have any evidence of abuse here, so we can't arrest him. But someone called us, so we can't leave you with him. You and your son have to leave. If you refuse to leave, we're arresting you and your son."

She asks why they can't just force the step dad to leave, "Well, it's his house." She says they're married, and the deed is in both names, so it belongs to both of them. They answer, "Well, it's easier to force you to leave, so that's what we're doing." She tries again, "I have nowhere to go. My family lives in upstate NY; his family lives down the street!" They reply again, "Ma'am, you're leaving, either in your own car or in our squad car."

My step dad chimes in here, "That car she drives belongs to me too. It's not leaving my property." The cop acquiesces, "Okay, so you (speaking to the beaten and bloody woman), will need to find someone to come pick you up or call a cab. If you can't, we'll need to take you to jail to cool off for the night because we can't leave you here."

So, she found a friend to come get her and myself. We had to stay at a battered woman center for a while, but couldn't get any help, and she eventually went back to him, and eventually the beatings continued. Cops were called more than a few times, and they were always on his side. I just didn't understand how they could be so jaded and heartless to someone in obvious distress.

I still don't get it. There are a lot more stories, but man, I really developed a distaste for police back then. I don't still have the distaste, obviously, but it was upsetting at the time. It upsets me still.