According to a report made by a local news station in Denver, CO, a teacher was fatally shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend outside her Denver apartment on December 16. A GPS tracking device that would have been able to warn the victim that the suspect was nearby was not requested by the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
If the suspect, Ryan Miller, had still been wearing the GPS tracker, it would have alerted Andrea Roan that he was just outside her apartment; however, it was removed after a previous domestic violence case involving Miller and Roan was taken over by the Denver District Attorney. Upon taking on the case, the District Attorney decided they did not need to track the suspected killer.
Without being privy to the details of this case, I would still have to surmise that this man was considered a dangerous character for the court to have required him to wear a GPS tracker. I wonder what changed, if anything, that led to the decision of the District Attorney to have the GPS tracker removed. This is a tragic death that could have been avoided.
“We don’t ask for it [GPS tracking devices] in every case, just those cases where we think it would be appropriate and necessary,” says Vince DeCroce. Although he was unable to talk about any specific cases, he did explain that authorities often request GPS tracking devices when they believe the victim’s life could be in danger.
Apparently, Andrea Roan’s life was in danger because she lost her life as a result of this decision.
“First and foremost is victim safety,” DeCroce says. “The tracking device sends an alert to the monitoring company if the suspect gets near the victim’s home or workplace. The company then immediately warns the victim.”
It doesn’t sound like “victim safety” was a priority here.
According to law enforcement authorities, Miller waited outside Roan’s apartment last Friday morning and then shot her in the head as she drove away. Read the full article »
