NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans City Council members are demanding answers from the New Orleans Police Department on its response times to domestic abuse emergency calls from Asia Davis, whose boyfriend shot her to death in New Orleans East earlier this month.
Davis called in domestic emergencies on April 6 and April 18, but police marked those calls “gone on arrival,” according to our partners at The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate.
On Thursday, Council President JP Morrell and Council Vice President Helena Moreno voiced their frustrations with the response times.
“It is hard for us as a city to have victims and survivors take us seriously. We don't prioritize their safety by thinking a 12-hour response on two complaints of domestic violence is acceptable,” Morrell said.
Davis was shot near the intersection of Mayo Road and South I-10 Service Road, just yards away from busy I-10 on May 11. After the shooting, neighbors said Davis was left fatally wounded in front of her apartment complex in the middle of the service road, in clear view of passing traffic until police arrived.
"Why was it not tagged as a domestic violence incident, so that there could be more urgency?" said Council Vice President Helena Moreno. "When it's an intimate partner, the next step is likely killing her."