(Memphis) Jerry Hill is in jail accused of beating his ex-wife in-front of their children.
According to a police affidavit, Hill went to the corner of Birchfield and Mahue where his ex-wife was in a van with their three children.
Police say he kicked and punched her in the face and left her barely conscious here in the street.
He also had a gun and threatened to kill her with it, all in front of their children.
“That’s something they will carry the rest of their life, and some of them might grow up and think their supposed to hit a woman,” said Linda Miller.
Miller works across the street from where the assault happened, and thinks crimes like this are way too common in Memphis, “It’s inhumane to me. A man should never hit a woman first of all.”
This is one of more than twenty thousand domestic violence cases Memphis police expect to work this year, and Verizon wireless believes it`s time to get involved.
The phone company is donating five thousand dollars to Memphis’s Family Safety Center as part of domestic violence awareness month.
Mayor A C Wharton says the center helps victims of domestic violence get out of dangerous situations, “Part of that is just to make sure every victim has some sort of way, a lifeline out. Just some way to connect with others.”
You can get involved by donating and old cell phone to the Hopeline Program.
The drop off boxes are in Verizon stores and those old phones will be redistributed to shelters and domestic violence centers for free so victims can have a connection to safety.