Negligence? 7 Cops Disciplined in Stabbing Case

Seven Long Island police officers were disciplined for not fully investigating domestic violence calls a woman made days before officials say her ex-boyfriend killed her, a police commissioner said.
    
Two patrol officers who responded up to three times to the home of Jo'Anna Bird's mother have been reassigned to nonpatrol jobs, says Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey. Four other patrol officers and a supervisor, who were involved in a domestic violence call two days before Bird was stabbed to death, have been transferred, he said.
    
``It appears as though they failed to assess the situation fully and do a thorough and comprehensive preliminary examination at the scene,'' Mulvey said Friday. He said he was ``deeply disappointed'' in the officers' actions. Their names weren't released.
    
Mulvey says the officers didn't identify witnesses or fill out enough paperwork when responding to the domestic violence calls on March 15 and March 17.
    
The 24-year-old woman was stabbed to death at her New Cassel home on March 19. Her ex-boyfriend, Leonardo Valdez-Cruz, is charged with killing her. Police say he defied court orders to stay away from her.
    
Mulvey said he didn't know whether the officers were aware of the order of protection against Valdez-Cruz when they responded to the calls. He said from now on, county police must enter information on domestic violence calls that don't result in arrest reports into data terminals located in patrol cars, and report the incident to a supervisor.
    
``None of the actions that these police officers took were responsible for the death of this woman,'' said James Carver of the Nassau County Police Benevolent Association, which represents all officers except for the supervisor.
    
A Bird family attorney disagreed.
    
``Unfortunately, this not only was a bad set of actions by police officers but served as a death sentence for Jo'Anna Bird,'' said Fred Brewington.