Could Florida's Red Flag Law Have Saved Dayana Hurtado's Life?

Just two weeks before 24-year-old Dayana Hurtado was allegedly shot to death by her boyfriend at her Coral Springs apartment, she told police he was threatening to kill her, records show.

On the evening of August 15, after receiving a report of gunshots and a child screaming outside the apartment, police arrived at the complex to find Hurtado dead on her balcony with multiple gunshot wounds. Her boyfriend, Chase Harder, fled the scene with her three-year-old daughter in tow, police say.

Harder, a 21-year-old Fort Lauderdale Police Department detention officer, later turned himself into the Coral Springs Police Department, spattered in blood. He was arrested on charges of first-degree murder and writing a threat to kill.

According to police records obtained by New Times, Hurtado had called the Coral Springs Police Department two weeks earlier — just before midnight on July 30 — to report that Harder, a six-foot-two former U.S. Army reserve officer, sent her text messages threatening to kill her. She noted during the call that he was a police officer and would be returning in two days. (The call log refers to the man as her "husband," but it appears the couple was not married.)

When a dispatcher asked for the name of the man threatening her, Hurtado stopped responding, police say. Records indicate that she didn't pick up a series of follow-up calls.

In response to questions about how the Coral Springs Police Department responded to Hurtado's complaint, deputy chief Ryan Gallagher advised New Times that Hurtado declined to provide the suspect's name or information. When asked how the department handles reports of death threats, Gallagher said that the response varies depending on the "cooperation of the alleged victim" and "what the messages entailed."

Florida's red flag law, enacted in 2018 after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school shooting, allows law enforcement to confiscate weapons from people deemed a threat — however, it's not an automatic process. Police must first file a request with a civil court with evidence of "legitimate threats of violence." If officers believe the danger is imminent, and a judge agrees, the subject of the complaint must immediately turn over their weapons.

As noted in a 2022 investigation by Reveal, while red flag laws can help save lives, police, prosecutors, and judges must know how to identify threats and "act on that knowledge."

The investigation found that among scores of domestic violence homicides documented between 2017 and 2020, police repeatedly ignored obvious signs that a victim was at risk of being killed. The failure of law enforcement to heed red flags has facilitated a spike in America's rate of domestic violence gun homicides, according to the report.

New Times is looking into whether Hurtado had previously contacted law enforcement about Harder. A search of the Broward court docket did not show restraining orders on file against him in the county.

The records provided by the Coral Springs Police Department indicate that officers were not dispatched to Hurtado's home in response to her July 30 call.

The department maintains that it attempted to follow up with Hurtado by phone but received no identifying information about the threat.

"Victims can potentially pursue prosecution, refuse to cooperate, request information on or obtain a restraining order, remove themselves from the environment while officer[s] stand by, etc. There can be any number of avenues, but much of it depends on what information we can get from the victim," Gallagher says.

The deputy chief did not respond to a follow-up question asking whether he believes this was a missed opportunity to employ the state's red flag law.

Advocacy organizations have documented that victims of domestic abuse often feel trapped in dangerous relationships and afraid to report violent threats out of fear of retaliation, stigmatization, and the prospect that their abuser will follow through on the threats.

Born in Peru, Hurtado moved to the United States "in search of a better life for her daughter," her former sister-in-law told the Sun Sentinel. She was described as a "very happy person" who loved to dance.

Hurtado's uncle created a GoFundMe page to raise money to send her remains to her home country of Peru, where her father resides. The fundraiser also seeks money to support Hurtado's daughter.

"The daughter is only 3 years old and has no insurance, doesn't go to school, and is confused about the situation," the fundraiser reads. "We need your help in these grieving times."

Hired by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department in June 2022 as a detention officer, Harder has been placed on administrative leave without pay, pending an investigation into Hurtado's death.

According to county records, he's currently being held at Broward County's main jail.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline number is 800-799-7233. Counselors are also available via online chat.