Tracy Thompson Refused to Press Charges on Her Abusive Husband

Tracy Thompson

By all accounts, the couple seemed to have had a tumultuous relationship that often resulted in physical violence. Despite several reports being made in the wake of such altercations, Tracy Thompson refused to proceed with court action against her common-law husband. According to Commissioner of Police Chester Williams, she withdrew her statements against Logan on previous occasions.

Chester Williams

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“When it reaches this stage where the victim had been victimized before and nothing is done, it comes back to the police. Everybody says, “Oh, she made complaints to the police and police did nothing.” Yes, she may have made reports but the question is, what was her request? She requested no court action and this is why I have always said to victims of domestic violence, you need to make a stop yourself. There’s only so much the police can do because if it is that you go to the police and say you don’t want court action then the police will not pursue it. Now if it is brought to my attention and it’s not every case of domestic violence that is brought to my attention, but once any is brought to my attention, I will say to the police, whether the victim wants or not, we will take the matter to the court and let her go to the court and withdraw the matter so that when things like this happen, we can say, “Yes, she came. We took the matter to the court and she went to the court and withdrew the matter.” And with that then, we wash our hands… Her complaint was that she did not wish to pursue court action and because she did not wish for court action, police did not pursue the matter any further in terms of arresting the person and taking the person before a court of law. Again, I want to emphasize the point, when you are being abused by your spouse, particularly women who are being abused, you cannot sit back and allow your abuser to continue abusing you.”