The Pentagon is looking into a second complaint filed by a woman alleging the Indiana National Guard has been dismissive of concerns about domestic abuse or harassment. <\/p>\n
Shannon Dickerson filed a complaint alleging Indiana Guard officials failed to take appropriate action after she told them that her then-husband, Guard attorney Brian Dickerson, had beaten her. <\/p>\n
The complaint filed with the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Va. also alleges Guard leaders were \"derelict\" in ensuring that her ex-husband provided required financial support for herself and her children. <\/p>\n
Brian Dickerson has denied the abuse allegation, but a judge in the couple's divorce case found him responsible for breaking her foot. <\/p>\n
The Guard confirmed to The Indianapolis Star that the Department of Army Inspector General is investigating. The Inspector General's office declined to comment. <\/p>\n
Previously, The Star reported the Pentagon also is reviewing the actions of another Indiana Guard attorney who inadvertently sent an email to a different woman suggesting she take her harassment claim to Dr. Phil. <\/p>\n
For some local advocates for domestic abuse victims, the two complaints suggest a disconcerting behavior in the Guard's legal office and raise larger questions about whether there is a culture problem within the Indiana Guard that would hamper taking seriously domestic abuse allegations. The Indiana Guard says that is absolutely not the case. <\/p>\n
The Dickerson complaint revolves around the couple's contentious and protracted divorce. Contained within the more than 3,000 pages of the divorce records are a series of accusations and counter-accusations. <\/p>\n
But if the divorce was complicated and messy, the issue before the Pentagon and the primary question for victim advocates is more simple: When did Indiana Guard authorities become aware of the abuse allegation and what did they do about it? <\/p>\n
Those questions are important because at the time of the alleged abuse Brian Dickerson was the senior full-time legal adviser to the Guard's top commander, Adjutant General Martin Umbarger. <\/p>\n
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Read more from the original source: <\/p>\n
National Guard: Domestic abuse and the halls of justice<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Pentagon is looking into a second complaint filed by a woman alleging the Indiana National Guard has been dismissive of concerns about domestic abuse or harassment. Shannon Dickerson filed a complaint alleging Indiana Guard officials failed to take appropriate action after she told them that her then-husband, Guard attorney Brian Dickerson, had beaten her Continue reading