Broward shooting of Mexican national spurs talk of better training

After the controversial shooting of an undocumented immigrant, Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne met with Mexican officials last week to discuss ways to ensure foreign nationals involved in police action meet with their consular officers. "We met with [Jenne], who was very concerned about the shooting and he was open to how consular notification should be interpreted and applied," Mexican Consul General Jorge Lomonaco said on Thursday. "He wanted our help in enlisting Spanish-speaking recruits and in coming up with classes that deal with racial profiling." The meeting, which a Sheriff's Office spokesman confirmed, was prompted by the Nov. 3 shooting of a Mexican national outside the Whispering Isles apartment complex in Pompano Beach. Deputies approached him and another man after they mistakenly tried to enter the wrong apartment. An attorney for the men, who are undocumented immigrants, said they were returning home from their first day at work and were confused about which building they lived in. One of the men, Germán Gómez, remains hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the head, barely able to speak and unable to move much of his body. The second man, his cousin Javier Dominguez, was detained for several hours by the Sheriff's Office and threatened with deportation. It remains unclear whether he was informed of his right to contact the consulate for help. [more]