A Palm Beach County judge has dismissed the wrongful death lawsuit filed against the City of Boynton Beach and Officer Jermaine Jones over the 2023 murder of Fridelene Daniel, but the fight is far from over. Daniel’s family says they plan to file an amended complaint before a court-ordered deadline next month, keeping alive a case that has forced a hard look at how police handle domestic violence reports.
A Murder Less Than an Hour After a Police Visit
Daniel had gone to the Boynton Beach Police Department seeking help involving her ex-boyfriend, Robens Cesar, reporting that he had a gun and was going to kill her, according to WPEC. Cesar followed Daniel after she left the police department and shot her less than an hour later, on November 8, 2023. According to police affidavits reviewed by Law & Crime, Cesar later confessed to shooting Daniel in her apartment complex parking lot, telling detectives that her decision to report him to police that morning was “the final straw.”
Cesar was arrested hours after the shooting and has been held without bond in Palm Beach County Jail on a first-degree murder charge, per WPBF 25 News. He remains jailed awaiting trial. Daniel’s daughter was 16 years old when her mother was killed, and the civil case is intended to provide financial compensation for that loss, the station’s report notes.
Judge Says Complaint Failed to Establish a Legal Duty
Palm Beach County Judge Gregory Keyser dismissed the wrongful death lawsuit without prejudice, ruling that the complaint failed to establish the legal duty necessary for the case to proceed. The judge found the complaint lacked sufficient allegations to support claims against the city and Officer Jones under Florida law, per the same account. That outcome traces back to a well-established legal hurdle: under Florida’s public duty doctrine, municipal police officers generally owe a duty of protection to the public at large rather than to specific crime victims, meaning civil plaintiffs must prove a recognized “special relationship” to hold a city liable, according to guidance from My Florida Legal.
Attorney Gary Susser, who represents Daniel’s estate and her daughter, said the ruling does not end the case. He plans to file an amended complaint by the court’s September 17 deadline and to continue pursuing the lawsuit before a new judge. Susser contends that officers failed to properly respond to a domestic violence victim seeking help, and he said the amended complaint will include allegations that officers failed to properly follow protocol when Daniel reported the threat.
The Statutory Argument: Mandatory, Not Discretionary
Susser’s strategy hinges on a specific statutory hook. He said the law requires officers to ask certain questions when handling domestic violence and stalking allegations, and that asking those questions is mandatory rather than discretionary. That argument leans on Florida Statute § 741.29, which establishes mandatory law enforcement procedures for domestic violence allegations, requiring investigating officers to complete written reports and supply victims with a statutory notice of legal rights and remedies, according to Boca Raton municipal records. Florida Statute § 741.28 further defines domestic violence to include stalking and aggravated stalking between people who formerly lived together as a family unit, which is relevant given that Daniel reported her ex-boyfriend was stalking and following her…