SCHENECTADY COUNTY Murder-suicide prompts police policy changes BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.
Ramcumar Bandhoo should have been jailed following his arrest on domestic violence charges and ordered to have no contact with girlfriend Rafeena Rahaman after he held a knife to her throat in mid-February. But glitches and oversights in the criminal justice system led to the release of the 38-year-old Schenectady man, authorities have acknowledged. Eight days later, Bandhoo stabbed Rahaman to death and then took his own life. That case spurred a review of how law enforcement agencies handle domestic violence cases in Schenectady County. City police are now in the process of updating their domestic violence policies, which have remained unchanged for roughly 15 years. And prosecutors are asking them to make other subtle changes in fi ling charges so requests for so-called stay-away orders are acted upon early on during the criminal justice procedure. But there’s nothing to say these changes would have saved Rahaman in the days after her boyfriend’s arrest. The 47-yearold mother of three grown children fl ed to the New York City area after Bandhoo’s arrest but returned to Schenectady to reconcile with him six days later, shortly before her murder, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney explained Thursday. “We can say we didn’t do everything we could have done,” he said following a meeting of the Schenectady County Domestic Violence Task Force, “but we can’t say that any of those things would have made the outcome any different.” Schenectady Assistant Police Chief Michael Seber said his department began conducting a thorough review of its policies and procedures regarding domestic violence cases in the wake of the murdersuicide. Much of the policy dates back to the mid-1990s. “This just brought us up to speed,” he said of the changes, which include formal policies on stalking. Part of the breakdown in Bandhoo’s case was that he shouldn’t have been released after his arrest on misdemeanor counts of second-degree unlawful imprisonment and second-degree menacing. Bandhoo was released on an appearance ticket, without even having to post bail, despite police procedures that require officers to incarcerate those accused of domestic violence until they can be arraigned in City Court. The City Court judge reviewing Bandhoo’s case the morning after his arrest also didn’t realize Rahaman had requested a stay-away order. The notation was made in the charging documents, which aren’t typically reviewed by judges, but not in the police narrative of the arrest. “It wasn’t there,” Carney said. Police will now stamp a request for a stay-away order on the face of the narratives. Carney said the notation will be prominent, so judges and victims’ advocates will see them during an initial court appearance. “It will be almost impossible for anyone to miss it,” he said. Schenectady County will also be part of a new order-of-protection notifi cation system being implemented by the New York State Sheriff’s Institute. The pilot program set to begin later this spring will allow victims of domestic violence to receive an alert via text message, automated phone call, email or fax once an order of protection has been served. .............................>>>>................................>>>>.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01401&AppName=1
Logged
