Children left behind at homicide scenes take top priority for city police officers

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

They don’t get the publicity that detectives do, but patrol officers who respond first to a serious crime such as a shooting or homicide have many responsibilities.

They must find the crime scene and keep it from being disturbed, notice any evidence that may be lying about and make efforts to preserve it, and identify and possibly detain any witnesses for investigators, sometimes with an emotional crowd on hand.

Factor in a young child that may be there with a victim who is dead, and the situation changes entirely.

Of the three homicides in Youngstown in 2019, young children were present at two of them when the victim was found.

On Jan. 24, Crystal Hernandez, 24, was shot and killed inside her McBride Street apartment on the East Side. First responders found her 2-year-old son asleep on her chest as she bled from a gunshot wound to the neck. The boy was not harmed. Six people are arrested in connection with her murder, and two other people are charged with a shooting that led to the retaliation shooting that killed her.

On Feb. 8, officers were called to an Oregon Avenue apartment for a shooting and found Danekua Bankston, 28, who was shot several times and severely wounded. She died a couple of days later at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital. Family members said when she was shot, one of her young children was present.

An ex-boyfriend of Bankston’s is charged in her death.

Lt. Brian Butler, staff inspector for the department, said patrol officers’ responsibilities change when they find a young child at a homicide scene to first and foremost making sure the child is safe.

“Your priorities immediately change,” Butler said. “The safety of the child is paramount.”

In such cases, officers can invoke what is commonly known as Juvenile Rule 6, which means they take temporary custody of a child.

Butler said the child’s safety and well-being is so important that if a potential witness leaves or someone walks through the crime scene, the officer cannot abandon the child, at least until other officers arrive.

Butler said that sometimes at a crime scene, an officer will be assigned strictly to look after a child that is found there.

Jennifer Kollar, a spokeswoman with Mahoning County Children Services, said officers at crime scenes, primarily supervisors, try to find family that can take any children that are found. When that is done, they then contact CSB to let it know of the situation, and often a report is forwarded to CSB so a worker can investigate or at least check on the child’s welfare. There is always a case worker on call after regular business hours, Kollar said.

“A lot of times, law enforcement can make those decisions if a family member is available, then call to follow up,” Kollar said.

If a family member is not available, a CSB worker will then try to find someone who can care for the child. If that is not possible, the child will be placed with a foster family that is on call for such situations, Kollar said.

As for whether a child may be a witness is also a tricky dilemma for investigators. Capt. Brad Blackburn, head of the detective bureau, said investigators often consult with CSB workers to see if a child should or can be interviewed.

Blackburn said CSB also has experts on hand to help investigators talk to children in those situations if they are needed.