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.
Even if Susser succeeds in establishing that duty, Florida's sovereign immunity law caps what the family could recover. Under Florida Statute § 768.28, tort recovery against local municipalities is capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence without a special legislative claim bill, per the Florida Senate. And while Florida's Marsy's Law constitutional amendment guarantees crime victims rights to safety and due process, it explicitly does not automatically create an actionable civil “special relationship” between crime victims and law enforcement agencies, according to the Second Judicial Circuit State Attorney's office. Administrative discipline against an officer, in other words, does not automatically translate into civil liability in court.
City Declines Comment, Prior Discipline Already on Record
The City of Boynton Beach declined to comment on the case. City spokesperson Shawna Lamb said the city was not in a position to comment on ongoing litigation, per WPEC.
The department has already acknowledged failures in how Daniel's report was handled. Hoodline's prior coverage detailed how an internal affairs investigation resulted in Officer Jermaine Jones receiving a two-week suspension and 120 hours of domestic violence training after investigators concluded he failed to follow state and municipal domestic violence protocols when Daniel sought help. Boynton Beach Police Chief Joseph DeGuilio called Daniel's murder “a tragic example of domestic violence at its worst” and said Jones' actions did not reflect the department's policing standards, according to a statement reported by CBS12.
Daniel's family is also pursuing a separate civil suit against the Meadows on the Green Condo Association and Robens Cesar, alleging the apartment complex where the shooting occurred was located in a high-crime area and lacked adequate security systems, according to a report from CBS12's Miami affiliate. That premises-liability case runs parallel to the wrongful death claim against the city and stands apart from the statutory duty questions now at the center of Susser's amended filing.
Susser said he expects to meet the September 17 deadline, with the amended complaint set to include additional details and evidence beyond what was originally filed. Whether it survives the same legal hurdles that doomed the first complaint will determine whether Daniel's family gets a chance to argue their case before a jury at all.
