Norma Torres and Pomona police
Torres and Police Chief Joe Romero have had battles in the past, but it seemed quiet until this. A Covina woman was found died in a van at a Pomona courthouse Friday. Cops found the van, and called the family. The family then found the woman. Now questions are being raised as to why the police didn't do it.
LA Times: According to Romero: Officers had followed proper protocol. When the van was located, Romero said officers were sent to inspect the vehicle. After running a check of the license plate, they learned it was part of a missing person's report filed in Covina. He said the officers called Covina police and were told to release the van to the family or it would be impounded.
"There is no way the officers could have known" there was a dead body inside, Romero said. "There's no mistake on our part. We have no right to go inside the vehicle."
Torres: Said she wants to know more about the department's protocols in dealing with such cases.
"It's certainly upsetting to hear, and my heart goes out to the family, who had to discover the body," Torres said. "I have a lot of questions that require follow-up."
UPDATE: "A parolee gang member relative of the husband of a Covina woman who was found murdered in her van on Saturday has been named a "person of interest" in the case by Pomona Police.
Police said Joseph Orta, 34 has not been officially named as a suspect in the murder of 22-year-old Eileen Ponce-Orta, who was found fatally stabbed in the neck on Saturday
"part of a missing person's report"
Um, I think this gives cause/reason to look inside the van. What if she was clinging to life in there?
This is odd.
Thousands of missing person reports are filed every day across the state. In the case of certain types of missing (Abductions, small children, elderly, mentally challenged), certain prodical is maintained. Those types of missing reports are handled differently than the standard missing person report.
It isn't a crime to be a missing person. Sometimes, people don't want to be found. In recent case loal to this area, the suspect (Frank Beltran) filed a missing person report in attempts to locate his ex-wife, only to shoot her later in the City of San Dimas.
I'm sure the Pomona officer wishes he/she could take back having the family come out prior to the search. If the offier saw something supcicious in the vehicle, I'm sure they would have entered the vehicle and located the deceased missing person.
Mayor Norma Torres certainly is quick to blast the Pomona Police Dept for their actions. Torres should focus her effort on keeping the department heads accountable to the City Council. This effort shouldnt be accomplished thru publicly backdooring those supervisors in the media, but by using the chain of command and asking questions thru the appropiate channels.
I'm sure Norma's employment as a police dispatcher with the LAPD has been so steller that she has never made a mistake. When those mistakes were made, Norma wouldn't have appreciated having Chief Bratton publicly undermind her efforts. There is a chain of command that should be followed which help develop those employees careers.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the family who lost a wife and a daughter...