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New York (CNN) -- New York Police Department officials say they can't explain why a fearful woman's domestic-abuse report -- written in the woman's native language of Spanish -- was never translated into English for review, and for possible action.
The woman and her two daughters subsequently were stabbed to death. The woman's husband, arrested as he tried to flee to Mexico, now faces charges of first-degree murder.
And a group that has a lawsuit pending against the city on behalf of six other Latina women says the case of Deisy Garcia and her young daughters is far from unique in New York.
The paper trail that ends with the January deaths of Garcia and daughters Daniela, 2, and Yoselin, 1, stretches back to last May.
On May 30, Garcia filed a police report saying she feared her husband would kill her and their two daughters. Garcia spoke Spanish, and it was in Spanish that she filed the report. According to the NYPD, that report was never translated into English for further review.
On January 18, according to authorities, Garcia and her daughters were stabbed to death in their Queens apartment, allegedly by Garcia's ex-husband and the girls' father, Miguel Mejia-Ramos.
Police say officers at the murder scene filed their own report, but the department has no explanation for what happened to Garcia's report from months earlier or to another report from Garcia, again written in Spanish, after a November incident.
"I knew about the police report, and I knew about the police showing up at the house previously on one of the times where Deisy had called the police because she had been the victim of domestic violence," says Roger Asmar, an attorney hired by Garcia's family. "But we did not know that every time Deisy filled out a report -- every time she went to the precinct or the cops came to the house -- no one actually translated the text into English, so, apparently no one looked into it.
"No one translated it and they just put it away or placed it into the system ... three complaints were filed by Deisy, and none of the times she filed a complaint did police actually arrest Mr. Mejia, her ex-husband."
Police have confirmed the May 30 report, and CNN has obtained copies of reports dated November 27 and 28 from Garcia's family, who found them among Deisy Garcia's belonging after she died.
On November 27, cops responded to a call from Garcia.
"She said when her husband came home, he threatened to kill her. She was crying so she called the police and told them that her husband had threatened to kill her," said Sara Alvarado, Garcia's aunt, who was present during the police visit that time.
As she had in May, Garcia once again filed a domestic incident report and wrote in Spanish, "at about 2:40 am my husband came home and assaulted me, he pulled my hair and kicked me twice, then grabbed my phone. After he did that, I called the police, but he changed and ran out taking a phone that is not mine with him. Today in the morning, he was threatening me that he would take away my daughters."
Police are unable to say whether that report was ever translated, either.
On November 28, Garcia made a follow-up visit to the precinct, filling out another complaint, but her claims did not lead to an arrest.
In statements to police following the slayings, Mejia-Ramos allegedly said he'd been drinking when he got home on the night of January 18, according to the Queens district attorney's office. He went through his wife's phone and Facebook account and saw a photo of her with another man, he told prosecutors.
According to the Queens district attorney's office, Mejia-Ramos said he grabbed a knife and stood over Garcia and allegedly stabbed his wife multiple times before entering his daughters' bedroom where he gave each of them a hug and a kiss, and stabbed them as he asked for their forgiveness.
The three bodies were discovered by Garcia's uncle and a 12-year-old cousin the next day.
Afterward, Mejia-Ramos tried to flee to Mexico, according to police, but was arrested January 21 in Schulenburg, Texas -- a town near the Mexican border -- and brought back to New York. He was indicted on February 14 and will be arraigned in early March, the Queens district attorney's office said.
He is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Mejia-Ramos faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted on the murder charge, the district attorney's office said.
Garcia's family believes that had the police taken action, she may still be alive.
"If they would have given it more importance, would have translated it to English, then maybe they (police) would have figured out what to do, they would have investigated him, been more on top of the case, what was happening with them," said Luzmina Alvarado, Garcia's mother.
"If the police had done something, this tragedy could have been avoided -- my daughter would be alive."
Some two months before Garcia filed her written-in-Spanish domestic-abuse report in May, an organization that serves "limited English proficient" domestic-violence victims filed a lawsuit against the city on behalf of six other Latina women, alleging the NYPD denies interpreters to limited-English speakers, depriving "them of access to NYPD services."
That lawsuit filed by the Violence Intervention Program is still pending.
The group says Garcia is but one of many women who are ignored by police because they cannot file complaints in English. The group alleges that the NYPD's denial of interpreter services has deprived limited-English-proficient women of their right to report crimes, to protect themselves from dangerous abusers, and to communicate effectively with the police in a wide range of circumstances.
"Not only does the NYPD fail to provide language assistance, it also degrades, ridicules and otherwise mistreats limited English proficient individuals who request interpreter services, actively demeaning them for their lack of English proficiency," according to the lawsuit.
The NYPD directed all inquiries on the lawsuit to the New York City Law Department, which handles legal issues for the city.
"The NYPD has more foreign-language-speaking officers than any police department in the country, including thousands of Spanish-speaking officers," said Nicholas Paolucci, spokesman for the New York City Law Department.
"Also, the NYPD has a corps of 19,000 members of the service who can provide interpretation services in over 70 languages."
But the Garcia family, the Violence Intervention Program and the women the group represents say that it doesn't matter how many officers can speak multiple languages if non-English statements provided by complaint victims are ignored.
As a result of an internal review into the failure of officers to translate domestic incident reports, the NYPD is verbally instructing officers on how to translate and store domestic incident reports that are prepared in texts other than the English language, according to NYPD Detective Cheryl Crispin.
"A memo will be transmitted to all commands informing domestic violence officers to immediately locate a member of the command who possesses the necessary language skills to translate a victim's written statement to English," she said in a prepared statement.
For Garcia's family, that may be too little, and it is definitely too late.
"We're thinking maybe we sue the police because this wasn't just his (Mejia-Ramos') fault, the authorities are also at fault," said Garcia's mother.
"My daughter may be dead and can't do anything in this case, but I want justice."
Is it too early to fill in my "Blame the Victim" square on Dakka Bingo?
d-usa wrote: "When the Internet sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending posters that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing strawmen. They're bringing spam. They're trolls. And some, I assume, are good people."
ScootyPuffJunior wrote: Is it too early to fill in my "Blame the Victim" square on Dakka Bingo?
Should've learnt to speak English.
Have that on me.
In all seriousness its pretty terrible. Thinking about it - if the cops knew it was regarding domestic abuse - and took the statement - couldn't they have actioned a follow up visit anyway? Regardless of the finer details in the statement?
I'm sorry but if this has been ongoing it doesn't have thing to do with the NYPD and everything to do with her staying with the scum. You can't blame the police for not getting out. This really is an instance where "if only the victim had had a gun."
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/02/20 17:55:19
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
Waiting for my shill money from Spiral Arm Studios
I'm gonna go with the gun, dogs are smelly and don't last as long.
Self-proclaimed evil Cat-person. Dues Ex Felines
Cato Sicarius, after force feeding Captain Ventris a copy of the Codex Astartes for having the audacity to play Deathwatch, chokes to death on his own D-baggery after finding Calgar assembling his new Eldar army.
mmm....that dog has good taste. That looks like a Remington 700 or maybe a CZ.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/02/20 16:31:57
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
mmm....that dog has good taste. That looks like a Remington 700 or maybe a CZ.
Frazzie you are slacking. You should remember that some dogs are shaped to be loaded as ammo, now we just need to invent the appropriate launcher.
How about tube with front trap cover, add dachshund in back, play soothing music on continuous loop, the trigger cuts the sound, releases a hypodermic firing pin with an appropriate stimulant and opens the front trap. Just aim and fire.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/02/20 18:29:34
n'oublie jamais - It appears I now have to highlight this again.
It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion. By the juice of the brew my thoughts aquire speed, my mind becomes strained, the strain becomes a warning. It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion.
mmm....that dog has good taste. That looks like a Remington 700 or maybe a CZ.
Frazzie you are slacking. You should remember that some dogs are shaped to be loaded as ammo, now we just need to invent the appropriate launcher.
How about tube with front trap cover, add dachshund in back, play soothing music on continuous loop, the trigger cuts the sound, releases a hypodermic firing pin with an appropriate stimulant and opens the front trap. Just aim and fire.
Wiener Dog Shokk Attack Gun! How could I have missed that.
TBone, Herald of the Great Wienie, has informed me that when the Great Wiener comes, His Canineness will set you high in his Counsel.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/02/20 18:33:49
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
Citizens and residents should be able to expect the police to protect them, but they should meet the police halfway.
Lots of cops hate getting involved in domestics, even if there are no language barriers, battered spouses often retract their testimonies before trial, or stand there with two black eyes and demand sympathy while saying up front to the police they will not leave because they declare their abuser is still their life partner. Up to a point I can respect that, and the police have no option to do so, unless a minor is involved. Sometimes if an arrest is made the abused partner turns on the police officer trying to make the arrests
Then the same people ring the next Friday night when the partner comes home drunk after shift again. Even if that is not the pattern here, its the frequent pattern.
We must retain sympathy for the victims in this, it is part of human psychology for a bettered partner to be loyal, violence in partnerships is part of a biological routes going back to alpha males of ape clans. In human prehistory as man took a wife by raping her into subjugation, and psychologically this is effective. It triggers positions of the brain from both primitive man and woman. Some people just cant climb completely out of the tree.
n'oublie jamais - It appears I now have to highlight this again.
It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion. By the juice of the brew my thoughts aquire speed, my mind becomes strained, the strain becomes a warning. It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion.
Medium of Death wrote: "She didn't have to stay with the Husband"... Domestic abuse is as simple as that.
Frazz, you're just trolling now. Can't you admit the police failed in their duty?
No, I'm expressing something called "reality' (TM). I have a tidal wave of court cases including NYC, that fully support that the police have no duty to protect you.
And before we start down the "Frazzled is evil road" of course the police should help, and there are services that should help. They have no duty to help though.
I know, this what my wife did for a living-helping domestic abuse and children crime victims, before she became a freelance ninja. We've also personally sheltered wimminz before.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/02/20 18:45:36
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
I know, this what my wife did for a living-helping domestic abuse and children crime victims, before she became a freelance ninja. We've also personally sheltered wimminz before.
Ignoring that the police get sued all the time for failing their duties and every case I've ever seen about the 'no duty to protect' line of hooey was about the Constitution which doesn't grant citizens a right to protection for all possible harm.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/02/20 18:48:34
I know, this what my wife did for a living-helping domestic abuse and children crime victims, before she became a freelance ninja. We've also personally sheltered wimminz before.
Ignoring that the police get sued all the time for failing their duties and every case I've ever seen about the 'no duty to protect' line of hooey was about the Constitution which doesn't grant citizens a right to protection for all possible harm.
Please cite one that found the police have a duty to protect you. This may take a while, but I'll be patient.
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
I know, this what my wife did for a living-helping domestic abuse and children crime victims, before she became a freelance ninja. We've also personally sheltered wimminz before.
Ignoring that the police get sued all the time for failing their duties and every case I've ever seen about the 'no duty to protect' line of hooey was about the Constitution which doesn't grant citizens a right to protection for all possible harm.
Please cite one that found the police have a duty to protect you. This may take a while, but I'll be patient.
Again, the NYPD dropped the ball, but its not their responsibility to get you to leave the situation.
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
Please cite one that found the police have a duty to protect you. This may take a while, but I'll be patient.
lol. Read the court cases. They were all decided on claims about a Constitutional right to protection, which doesn't exist and the decisions were all "you can't sue the police for violating your Constitutional Right to protection because no right exists." The duty referenced in the cases was Constitutional. DeShaney v. Winnebago County made this blatantly clear and in it the Justices even stated that the incident was grounds for a tort.
You can just repeat ad naseum the line or you can notice that it only comes from right wing looney sites on the internet and that the court decisions don't actually say that at all.
So in other words, you can't cite a case finding the police have a duty to protect citizens, so are attempting to attack me instead.
Philosoraptor Fail.
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
Frazzled wrote: So in other words, you can't cite a case finding the police have a duty to protect citizens, so are attempting to attack me instead.
Did you even read my post? The court doesn't have to decide police have a duty to protect citizens there's no point in having police at all if no duty exists. By creating a police force you are charging them with that duty. Further no court case says they have no duty they say they have no Constitutional duty, which is a big difference*.
I didn't attack you I attacked your opinion because its worthy of being attacked. The only places that even claim this silly line of logic are all pro-gun sites that regularly use it in arguments to oppose gun control (as if they somehow lack valid arguments and need to resort to misrepresenting court cases).
*A Constitutional Right to protection would go horrible array. The government cannot legally or practically ensure the protection of its citizens from everything. It's simple not possible and they can't have themselves facing civil liberty violations every time the police arrive five minutes to late to stop a crime.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/02/20 19:46:12
Ouze wrote: Frazzled is right. The police have no specific duty to protect any individual citizen. There is a lot of case law on this.
Yes, it's mind blowing. Yes, it sucks. No, that's not how it should be. No, it doesn't mean it's OK to blame the victim.
And I don't think anyone is blaming the victim. Just that the NYPD is not liable. Oh it pains me to say that...
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
5000pts 
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