By Liz Beavers
lbeavers@newstribune.info
Tribune Managing Editor

KEYSER - “I look forward to the day when we will no longer have to gather; when there will be no more victims of domestic violence,” said Pastor Sally Bartling of Trinity Lutheran Church in Keyser.
Bartling, a former member of the Family Crisis Center board of directors, spoke briefly at the Mineral County Day of Remembrance held Friday in observance of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Bartling asked for the crowd gathered at noon in the courtroom not only to pray for all those who have suffered and continue to suffer from domestic abuse, but also to pray for those who inflict the abuse on others.
“We have to pray for the perpetrators, for they are broken too,” she said. “We hate what they do, but we do not hate them.”
Sgt. John Droppleman of the West Virginia State Police also spoke to the crowd, offering law enforcement's point of view not only in regard to the  compassion they feel for those who have suffered at the hands of a loved one, but also for those officers who have lost their lives in trying to assist the victims.
“Over the past decade, 81 police officers have been killed while responding to domestic calls,” he said.
Citing a case in Colorado when a 10-year veteran officer was killed and two others critically wounded while investigating a domestic dispute, Droppleman noted that the emotional and physical toll such an incident takes on everyone “is immeasurable.”
“This incident left a family, a brotherhood of police officers, and an entire community grieving,” he said.
Mineral County Prosecuting Attorney Jay Courrier spoke about the difficulties which police

(See DOMESTIC P. 7A)
 officers and his office often face in prosecuting domestic cases, since many times the victims either choose not to file charges or to drop them in mid-case.
One reason for their hesitance, he said, is fear.
“The victims are often isolated,” he explained. “They feel they have no one out there they can rely on. They depend on the one who's abusing them for shelter and for food.”
Courrier said the victims also often think back to when times were better, and hang on to the hope that the abuse will stop.
“It's just hard to understand if you've never been a victim yourself,” he said.
The Family Crisis Center also took the opportunity Friday to honor several persons who have worked diligently in assisting victims of domestic abuse.
Deputy 1st Class Robbie Smith of the Mineral County Sheriff's Department was presented with the Above and Beyond Award for his work with the agency.
“He has helped victims a great deal,” Michelle Whitehead, direct service coordinator with the FCC, said.
Sandy Parker, law enforcement secretary with the sheriff's department, was also presented with a certificate of appreciation.
The purple Domestic Violence Awareness wreath was presented to Mineral County Circuit Clerk Mary Margaret Rinehart and her staff for their work through the court system.