Nevada's "Top Cop" and Chair of the State's Domestic Violence Committee Admits He Doesn't Know What Coercive Control Is

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 04, 2026

LAS VEGAS - At a domestic violence town hall hosted by SafeNest, Aaron Ford was asked whether he would support a law addressing coercive control. He answered "Guys I don't know what coercive control pattern is."

Aaron Ford showed up to a town hall on domestic and sexual violence without doing his basic homework. As Nevada's Top Cop and Chair of the State's Domestic Violence Committee, it's alarming that Ford doesn’t know what coercive control is - a basic concept in recognizing domestic abuse and protecting victims. Here’s a refresher for Aaron Ford:

Coercive control is a pattern of acts and behaviors that an abuser uses to take away your freedom and to control your life. The abuser may use fear, pressure, shame, or rules to wear you down and take over your choices. Sometimes, the abuser may also use physical violence, sexual abuse, or other forms of domestic violence as part of coercive control. (Womens Law)

Knowing what coercive control is should be basic knowledge for Nevada’s Attorney General. In fact, it is part of his job description:

He chairs Nevada's domestic violence policy committee.
- By statute, the Attorney General leads the Committee on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, the body that advises the Governor and Legislature on statewide domestic violence policy and legislation. When lawmakers ask how Nevada should define and prosecute abuse, Ford's committee is supposed to have the answer.
His committee reviews domestic violence laws and deaths.
- It is charged with reviewing proposed domestic violence legislation and examining cases where Nevadans were killed by an abuser. Coercive control is one of the clearest red flags in the lead-up to those deaths.
He runs the state's victim ombudsman office.
- The Office of the Ombudsman for Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking sits inside Ford's office, and he appoints the person who leads it. Its mission includes educating the public about domestic violence.
He is Nevada's chief law enforcement officer on trafficking.
- Traffickers rarely rely on chains. They rely on control: debt, isolation, confiscated phones and IDs, and fear. An AG must recognize that pattern to effectively catch it and fight it.

"Aaron Ford chairs the committee that's supposed to tell Nevada how to protect domestic violence victims, oversees the office that's supposed to educate the public about abuse, and he doesn't know what coercive control is? He has held this office for nearly eight years, so his failure to know what it means, long with other basic legal terms like larceny, raises questions about how seriously he takes his responsibility to protect victims. That's not a slip of the mind, that's eight years of not doing the bare minimum of the job Nevadans elected him to do."

- Halee Dobbins, Lombardo for Governor Spokesperson

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