One who attended the 17th annual Domestic Violence Walk rally at the Pine Bluff Civic Center on Tuesday couldn’t help noticing the signs honoring those who lost their lives to the act.
Names like Courtney Clary, Lashonda Price, Patrice and Claire McDaniel, and Stacy Petty reminded the public to never forget them or how they died.
This year’s event, organized by the Pine Bluff Police Department, put faces to the victims over the years in Jefferson County while renewing the call for the public to no longer be silent about domestic violence. This year, two have died as a result of such violence.
Locals walked through the neighborhood south of the Civic Center and performed chants of peace, love and stopping the madness of domestic violence, going as far south as 12th Avenue and working their way back north to Eighth Avenue.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“Mayor (Vivian) Flowers and her administration believe true public safety extends well beyond policing, and it’s about creating a community where everyone feels safe, where everyone feels supported and where everyone feels valued,” Mar’Tavius Proctor, projects and communications coordinator for the city of Pine Bluff, said. “Today we walked with purpose. We walked with compassion and with hope for a future free of violence.”
At the steps toward City Hall, Ward 1 Councilwoman Latisha Brunson shared her story of being the daughter of a woman who was killed in a 1999 incident.
“To every person in this space who has battled through abuse, trauma or loss, you are more than what happened to you,” Brunson said. “You are the proof that light can still shine through broken pieces. You are the story that another person is praying for to hear for their strength. Today, I stand here not as a victim but as a vessel, one filled with purpose, compassion and faith. This is why I do the work that I do, for my city, for families in crisis and every woman who needs to know she can rise again.
“My mother may be gone, but her story lives in every act of courage, in every story reclaimed and in every life transformed.”
Domestic violence calls in Pine Bluff have seen a drop from 2024, although more than two months remain in 2025. According to data from Pine Bluff Police, through Sept. 30, the city has recorded 1,974 calls, or 219.3 per month, with 60 arrests made. In 2024, there were 2,849 calls, or 237.4 per month, with 86 arrests made. The number of calls slightly decreased from 2023 by 17, while the number of arrests increased by 2.
Assistance was rendered on 509 calls this year, with action taken on 189 and 287 warnings given. Ninety-two calls were canceled prior to police arrival, suspects were gone on police arrival in 63 calls and police were unable to locate subjects in 81 calls.
Many domestic violence incidents occur between husband and wife (114 such calls made in Pine Bluff) and boyfriend and girlfriend (407 calls), but violence between parent and child (53) and brother and sister (52) are also classified in the matter.
Maurice Taggart, a lawyer and former head of the Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Agency, was acknowledged as one of the local victims. He died from a shooting inside his house on Aug. 30, 2023, although Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Kyle Hunter determined that Taggart’s son acted in self-defense.
“Anybody in a domicile, which is domestic violence – it can be a brother, son, sisters, aunt, uncle, aunt/nephew, or it can be boyfriend/girlfriend or someone who’s living in the home who unfortunately goes off on someone else, that’s going to be a domestic violence incident,” said John Worthen, public information specialist for the police department. “It can be anybody.”
New Year’s Eve is frequently cited as the day with most domestic violence calls or injuries, according to Pine Bluff Police. It added about 18.6% of Arkansas women have been stalked by the aggressor in a domestic violence act.
Tamela Garth, executive director of the Committee Against Spouse Abuse, said her organization can provide emergency shelter for women up to 90 days, in addition to resources needed to help women “put their lives back together” without going back to abusers. The Jefferson County prosecutor’s office also has advocacy groups dedicated to helping victims receive restraining orders from their abusers and to assist witnesses.
As the chants during the walk suggested, power rests within voices. As Tawanya Thompson said in her poem “We Rise, We Heal”:
“When the valley tried to silence us, our voices became our healing. We looked at our scars, and instead of shame, we saw survival. Because love, love shouldn’t hurt. Peace, peace shouldn’t hide. And healing, healing is whole.”
