The tragic killing of Girard Police Officer Justin Leo has put a spotlight on how dangerous domestic violence calls can be for law enforcement officers.

Late Sunday night, half a dozen law enforcement agencies responded to a domestic where the SWAT Team ultimately had to be called out.

Mahoning County's SWAT Team and half a dozen law enforcement agencies suited up and responded to a domestic violence call on Thornton Avenue on Youngstown's north side.

Police say 26-year-old Ricky Lee Carter barricaded himself and five others in a home. Witnesses told officers that he allegedly hit his girlfriend and was dragging her around.

After more than an hour-long standoff, police say they convinced Carter to let his captives leave the home.

Officials say that's when officers approached the house to break down the front door, Carter came out of the side of the home and surrendered.

But it's domestic violence incidents like this, and the one on Indiana Avenue in Girard that killed Officer Justin Leo last week, where law enforcement officers often don't know the dangers that could lie ahead.

Delphine Baldwin-Casey spent 31 years at the Youngstown Police Department and is a retired detective-sergeant who created the Domestic Violence Unit. "In training, we do discuss the dangers in how we should proceed.  Should it be a one-man car, should it be two officers?  And you have to be careful because you have to have a plan of action.  If you're standing in front of the door, shots may be fired.  A lot of things could happen.  So we try to train for this a lot."

Domestics are often the most dangerous and deadly situations for police officers because they are usually the most volatile, emotional and unpredictable.

"That's why we have to look at all types of issues.  There could be mental conditions, and we have to be aware of the surroundings because you actually don't know what weapons are in the house,"  Baldwin-Casey said.

But what's most important to keeping law enforcement safe in domestic violence situations is that police dispatched to the call should be given the most up to date information before arriving.  That should include being given the previous history of a suspect and if guns, drugs, and alcohol are involved.