Correctional Officer Katelyn Collins took to Facebook after in April, after a five month long abusive relationship with Correctional Officer Michael Martinez, to whistle blow about the mental and physical abuse she endured.
Collins, who is also a mother, wrote that the pictures that were originally posted on social media were them “putting on a front for Facebook.”
She went on to describe being hit after going out with friends, for not always smiling, and for showing emotion.
According to the post:
“I FEEL LIKE CRAP BECAUSE I WAS CALLED A BITCH, A FATASS, A WHORE, LAZY, AND THAT STARTED TO SINK IN MY HEAD. MY(SIC) I WASNT SHIT, MAYBE I WAS THE PROBLEM.”
Collins provided 11 screenshots of conversations between her and Martinez that showed Martinez made empty promises of changing his ways, as well as numerous attempts from Collins to leave the relationship.
She ended the post stating that she has pressed charges.
“CHARGES HAVE BEEN PRESSED AND SENT TO THE DA I WILL SEEK JUSTICE! THIS IS MIKEY MARTINEZ YOU GUYS!”
Pinac News reached out to Collins via Facebook requesting an interview, but she declined at the risk of ruining her case. She provided the picture above.
Martinez’s family is filled with law enforcement. Typically, in small cities, topics as such tend to be kept quiet and handled internally without even a police report when reported. According to numerous studies, the reason most of the unreported cases stay unreported is due to fear that the cases would be handled by officers connected to the abuser.
Two studies done on domestic violence within the police force, found that at least 40-percent of police officers families experience domestic violence.
According to The Atlantic:
“TWO STUDIES HAVE FOUND THAT AT LEAST 40 PERCENT OF POLICE OFFICER FAMILIES EXPERIENCE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, IN CONTRAST TO 10 PERCENT OF FAMILIES IN THE GENERAL POPULATION. A THIRD STUDY OF OLDER AND MORE EXPERIENCED OFFICERS FOUND A RATE OF 24 PERCENT, INDICATING THAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS TWO TO FOUR TIMES MORE COMMON AMONG POLICE FAMILIES THAN AMERICAN FAMILIES IN GENERAL.”
Those studies were done in 1991 and 1992.
A more recent study, done in 2013, analyzed 324 cases of domestic violence involving officers.
Of the 324 cases, 281 officers from 226 law enforcement agencies were arrested for domestic violence.
When analyzing, of all the officers that were convicted, more than half kept their jobs.
According to Martinez’s Facebook, he is still a correctional officer for the French M. Robertson Unit. His new relationship is with Correctional Officer Marilyn Burgara. According to Burgara’s Facebook, she has been employed as a correctional officer since January. Collins Facebook shows that she is still employed as a correctional officer, as well.
The screenshots of the conversation between Collins and Martinez’s, along with the pictures of the abuse, have been mirrored here.