Mother begged police for help minutes before she was killed; lawsuit says officer mocked her warning
By Terri Parker
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BOYNTON BEACH, Florida (WPBF) — The daughter of a Boynton Beach woman who was shot and killed minutes after asking police for help has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and a Boynton Beach police officer.
Attorney Gary Susser filed the suit on behalf of Fridelene Daniel’s minor daughter. It accuses the Boynton Beach Police Department and Officer Jermaine Jones of failing to protect Daniel after she reported being stalked by her ex-boyfriend, Robens Cesar, two years ago to the day.
Investigative Reporter Terri Parker obtained the lawsuit and the lobby body-camera video from Daniel’s visit to the police station.
On the video, Daniel tells an officer, “I don’t know what’s wrong with him, every time, he keeps following me. I don’t want that.”
Daniel says Cesar had a gun and that she feared he would kill her.
“He got a gun. I don’t want him to make me die,” Daniel says. The officer responds, “He got what?”
The complaint alleges Jones “made fun” of Daniel, mocked her pronunciation of the word “gun,” used inappropriate language, and minimized the danger.
At one point on the recording, the officer tells Cesar, “So, one year ago. She don’t want it no more. You can’t fix this. OK, you got to find you a new boo. OK, work on a new relationship, alright? Yeah. I’m done. I’m good.”
The suit says Jones did not open an investigation, did not call a supervisor or a domestic-violence advocate, and did not escort Daniel to her car, even as Cesar was allegedly at the station “actively stalking her.”
Police say less than an hour after Daniel left the station, she was shot and killed.
According to the arrest report, Cesar confessed and told detectives that Daniel’s visit to police was “the final straw.”
“This was stalking 101. It was a crime being committed in his presence,” Susser told Parker. “She was mocked, she was belittled and she was not taken seriously and was summarily dismissed.”
Susser says Jones later received a two-week suspension and domestic-violence training. The lawsuit seeks $5 million from the city’s insurance carrier for Daniel’s daughter.
Cesar remains in the Palm Beach County Jail, charged with first-degree murder.
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