It has been nearly four months since the MPD discovered the body of a man in an impound lot van. The department told FOX13 Friday they have still not finished their internal investigation.
The initial shooting happened on December 18th in Binghampton. The Latino men were in a van when three suspects tried to rob them, then fired shots. The van’s driver was rushed to the hospital after being shot three times, he survived.
It was not until 49 days later that the body of the second victim was found in the back of the van, which was sitting on the city’s impound lot.
On February 6th, the day after the body was discovered, MPD Director Michael Rallings promised an investigation.
“There is no explanation as to how the deceased victim remained in the vehicle without being detected by officers on the scene,” said Director Rallings.
Rallings said his department was determined to figure out how Bardomiano Perez Hernandez’s body was missed by detectives during an investigation.
Nearly 4 months later though, the MPD says the investigation is still ongoing.
“I think it’s wrapped up, I think it’s been wrapped up for a month or longer,” said Aaron Neglia, which is representing Bardo’s family. “Obviously, we are going to file a lawsuit against the city, against the officers, based on negligence.”
Like the media, Aaron Neglia is pushing the MPD for answers.
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“We want to know how the body wasn’t found, how was it missed,” he said. “That vehicle should’ve been inventoried at least three times. Once at the scene, once when it was going into impound, and once when it was received by the impound lot.”
Aaron Neglia is hoping the city will settle, and agree to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bardo’s family.
“The fact is, if the city was doing a job, the officers on the scene were doing their job, one these individuals that were arrested would’ve been arrested much sooner. And to you and most importantly, Bardomiano Perez Hernandez would still be alive today.”
A medical examiner has ruled Hernandez, a father to one daughter, was shot once in the abdomen.
“It’s sad that Bardo never had the chance to fight for his life, he just bled out alone,” said Neglia.
According to an MPD spokesperson, none of the officers involved in the investigation have been terminated or relieved of duty because the internal affairs investigation is ongoing.
If charges are filed against any MPD officers, they will have the chance to request a hearing process.