Two years ago, a coalition of women's advocates declared victory when Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and City Council approved a broad "zero-tolerance" policy toward police officers accused of family abuse.

Now those advocates are questioning whether the Pittsburgh Police Bureau is adequately enforcing its policy in the wake of new allegations that a sergeant last week slapped his ex-girlfriend and dislocated her jaw.

Sgt. Eugene F. Hlavac Jr., who on Tuesday was ordered to stand trial on a simple assault charge, is one of three officers whose promotions in 2007 brought the issue of domestic violence in police families into the spotlight, prompting council and the mayor to act.

The new policy, signed into law in December 2007, called on the police bureau to closely monitor officers with a history of abuse and created a Domestic Violence Review Board that meets quarterly.

The bureau was also charged with launching training programs for all officers and reaching out to officers' spouses, relatives and romantic partners with information about how to get help if they became victims of domestic violence.

But Jeanne Clark, president of the Squirrel Hill branch of the National Organization for Women, complained about a lack of transparency from the bureau concerning implementation of the policy.

"The problem is, we don't know what they're doing," Ms. Clark said. "The fact that they're not being terrifically forthcoming with us is a little concerning."

On Wednesday, she and other advocates called on Mr. Ravenstahl and city Public Safety Director Michael Huss to issue a public statement reaffirming their commitment to treating domestic abuse as a major crime.

Mr. Huss could not be reached for comment yesterday, but earlier in the week he said he understood the advocates' concerns.

"This is something we're taking very seriously," he said.

Elizabeth Pittinger, executive director of the city's Citizen Police Review Board, asked police Chief Nate Harper in January 2008 to share data on domestic violence incidents among officers with the board. He declined.

The board plans to conduct a public hearing about the issue in the spring, Ms. Pittinger said. The board cannot look into Sgt. Hlavac's case until the criminal case against him is closed.

A night-shift supervisor at Zone 2 in the Hill District, Sgt. Hlavac is temporarily assigned to the warrant office while the criminal and internal investigations are pending. On Wednesday, a judge authorized a protection-from-abuse order against Sgt. Hlavac, requiring him to give up all his firearms, including his duty weapon.

In the order, his ex-girlfriend, 23-year-old Lauren Maughan, cites two past incidents of abuse in addition to last week's altercation. In 2007, she said, Sgt. Hlavac dragged her out of bed by the hair and screamed at her in front of their infant son. The same year, the order says, he grabbed her throat and slammed her into a wall.

Phillip DiLucente, Sgt. Hlavac's attorney, called Ms. Maughan's protection order a "retaliatory" action against Sgt. Hlavac as the pair fights a legal battle over custody of their son.

"It's a strategic move to put him in a worse position over custody," Mr. DiLucente said.

Neither 2007 incident resulted in criminal charges, but police were called to Sgt. Hlavac's home both times. He was promoted to his current rank that year.

A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette review of civil court records soon after the promotion found that 34 of 846 city police officers had protection orders, known as PFAs, filed against them from 1995 to 2007.

The legislation that stemmed from the controversy now prohibits the promotion of officers subject to active domestic abuse criminal cases or PFAs. It also bars the hiring of police candidates with histories of violence.

A supervisor is required to report up the chain of command whenever there is evidence of "a pattern of abusive behavior." When a 911 call comes in alleging abuse by an officer, a police supervisor must go to the scene. If the officer is arrested, his service weapon is confiscated, he may be reassigned, and intensive monitoring starts.

It's unclear how closely the law was followed in Sgt. Hlavac's current case. Ms. Clark said Ms. Maughan's father, who lives in Florida, had been telling police since the beginning of the year that he had concerns about the sergeant.

The most recent incident occurred last Friday afternoon, when Ms. Maughan was late to pick up the pair's son from Sgt. Hlavac's Greenfield home. They argued in the street and he struck her, according to court records.

Mr. DiLucente said Ms. Maughan started the fight and his client was defending himself.

At first, Ms. Maughan told doctors at Forbes Regional Hospital that she was injured after falling down the stairs, to protect Sgt. Hlavac from punishment. But friends and relatives convinced her to go to police, she said.

At the Zone 4 police station in Squirrel Hill, Lt. Ed Trapp, who outranks Sgt. Hlavac, met with Ms. Maughan in accordance with the new policy. He then contacted Lt. Robert Roth, Sgt. Hlavac's supervisor at Zone 2, and Assistant Chief William Bochter.

Chief Bochter did not return a call for comment yesterday. Chief Harper is on vacation and was unavailable for comment, according to police spokeswoman Diane Richard.

Sgt. Hlavac was not asked to turn over his service weapon at the time he was charged, according to his attorney.

Even without criminal charges, the chief must ask the Office of Municipal Investigations to conduct a review, and the Domestic Violence Review Board must meet to discuss the incident. The board includes Mr. Huss and several top police officials.

Shirl Regan, executive director of the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, is also a member. She was unavailable for comment yesterday.

The chief can apply unspecified discipline based on the internal investigation.

Although Mr. Huss this week acknowledged that Sgt. Hlavac would be entitled to due process and an internal hearing, he said, "Further disciplinary action is pending."

Some within the police department don't care much for the 2007 law.

Officer Dan O'Hara, president of the city Fraternal Order of Police union, said he personally disagreed with it.

"I have no tolerance for domestic violence. Police officers don't tolerate anyone breaking the law," he said, adding that he believes the justice system is the best place to deal with someone accused of an act of violence.

The 2007 law, he worries, has the potential to interfere in the personal lives of officers and their families.

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