Topeka to reinstate ban on domestic battery next year

Domestic battery will be banned again in Topeka, but not until next year.

City governing body members voted Tuesday evening to reinstate the ban on domestic battery, beginning Jan. 1, 2015.

The delay was approved because City attorney Chad Sublet told governing board members it would cost $300,000 to effectively prosecute domestic battery cases this year, and that money is not in the city’s budget.

The city dropped the ban in 2011 when District Attorney Chad Taylor said budget cuts prevented his office from prosecuting domestic batteries committed in Topeka. After the ban was repealed, Taylor eventually resumed prosecuting the cases.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Sublet told governing body members the city would need to create four new jobs to resume prosecuting domestic batteries next year.

This story was originally published February 12, 2014 at 6:53 AM with the headline "Topeka to reinstate ban on domestic battery next year."