Huntington police aren't pursuing charges against Huntington Mayor David Felinton or his wife Bethany following a domestic call to his home Sunday morning.

Police and domestic violence experts agree that's the right call, for a number of reasons.

According to news reports, police arrived at the Felinton residence Sunday with the mayor standing on the sidewalk and his wife on the porch. A broken wine glass was on the front porch and personal items were thrown across the front yard.

WSAZ-TV obtained the 911 tape, where a woman, apparently Bethany Felinton, can be heard saying, "Mayor Felinton has lost his mind. He is jumping into my mother and me. ... He just tried to slam my head up against a brick wall."

On Wednesday police called a press conference where they said no charges would be filed and that Bethany Felinton admitted to embellishing the story with police and 911 operators.

Angie Rosser, communications coordinator for the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said she doesn't know the specifics of the case, and certainly there are cases where woman falsely report.

"It's very frustrating for police and prosecutors when this happens," she said. "And we have opponents who say this happens more often than we realize."

But prosecuting people who later recant their claims of abuse would cause victims of domestic violence to not reach out for help, Rosser said. Often victims will call for police, then later say they were lying for fear of retaliation by their abuser, she said.

The characteristics of the case are common, she said.

"I think [Huntington Police Chief Skip] Holbrook gets it," she said. "That is not only a fair and responsible response in this case, but it sends a message to the community and all victims that it's safe to contact police in a moment of emergency or where they are feeling afraid of someone."

Each domestic violence situation must be handled on a case-by-case basis, said Brian Jones, domestic violence investigator for the Charleston Police Department. When officers arrive on scene, they have to piece together a puzzle, he said.

Huntington police aren't pursuing charges against Huntington Mayor David Felinton or his wife Bethany following a domestic call to his home Sunday morning.

Police and domestic violence experts agree that's the right call, for a number of reasons.

According to news reports, police arrived at the Felinton residence Sunday with the mayor standing on the sidewalk and his wife on the porch. A broken wine glass was on the front porch and personal items were thrown across the front yard.

WSAZ-TV obtained the 911 tape, where a woman, apparently Bethany Felinton, can be heard saying, "Mayor Felinton has lost his mind. He is jumping into my mother and me. ... He just tried to slam my head up against a brick wall."

On Wednesday police called a press conference where they said no charges would be filed and that Bethany Felinton admitted to embellishing the story with police and 911 operators.

Angie Rosser, communications coordinator for the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said she doesn't know the specifics of the case, and certainly there are cases where woman falsely report.

"It's very frustrating for police and prosecutors when this happens," she said. "And we have opponents who say this happens more often than we realize."

But prosecuting people who later recant their claims of abuse would cause victims of domestic violence to not reach out for help, Rosser said. Often victims will call for police, then later say they were lying for fear of retaliation by their abuser, she said.

The characteristics of the case are common, she said.

"I think [Huntington Police Chief Skip] Holbrook gets it," she said. "That is not only a fair and responsible response in this case, but it sends a message to the community and all victims that it's safe to contact police in a moment of emergency or where they are feeling afraid of someone."

Each domestic violence situation must be handled on a case-by-case basis, said Brian Jones, domestic violence investigator for the Charleston Police Department. When officers arrive on scene, they have to piece together a puzzle, he said.

"You don't want to ever re-victimize a victim," Jones said. "When officers get on scene, they look for injuries, they look at the house. ... You don't want someone fearing police will think it's a false call."

False calls are rare, but they do happen, said Sgt. Aaron James, assistant chief of detectives for Charleston police.

Abusive relationships also follow a pattern, and a part of that pattern is that victims reconcile with the abuser. When that happens, domestic violence victims often recant their stories, James said.

"We pretty much let it go at that if we feel comfortable with it," he said.

But if someone has a black eye, if there is physical evidence of abuse, then police can arrest the abuser.

Domestic violence is the only misdemeanor police can arrest for based on their own observations of the situation, he said.

"If two guys are in a bar fight, we can't arrest them because the misdemeanor occurred out of our presence," James said. "But in [domestic violence] cases we can do it. It's the whole reason behind the law, to separate victims from abusers."

It's the community's duty to respond to claims of domestic violence as police did in the case of Huntington's mayor, regardless of whether or not they are true, Rosser said.

"Sometimes a victim will go back and protect an abuser. Often they want the violence to end but they don't want the relationship to end," she said. "It tells victims that we are here for you in a way that we can support you when you're ready and when you make that call for help."

Reach Gary Harki

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