Melissa Banda's Tragic End: Family Sues The City of McAllen, Over Slow Police Response To Her Calls For Help

A tragic incident unfolded as a woman, Melissa Banda, was discovered dead after making desperate calls to the police about her ex-husband on nine occasions. This heartbreaking story has led her family to file a lawsuit against the city.

Melissa Banda, aged 37 and a mother of three, worked as a district performance operations manager at T-Mobile. The lawsuit, filed on October 5 in Hidalgo County, Texas, sheds light on the events that transpired.

On August 8, 2020, her lifeless body was found in the bushes along a road in Donna, Texas, with her throat brutally slashed. The lawsuit places the blame on the City of McAllen, holding them responsible for the failure to protect Melissa.

Richard Ford Jr., Banda's ex-husband, has been charged with her murder.

The lawsuit, filed by Banda's sister, Cynthia Banda, asserts that the McAllen Police Department didn't take adequate measures to safeguard Melissa, despite her multiple calls for help. It starkly claims that the police department did very little to ensure her safety.

Despite Melissa Banda's repeated calls for assistance between November 21, 2019, and August 5, 2020, the lawsuit reveals that the authorities failed to provide the protection she desperately needed. The incidents she reported included threats from Ford, physical assaults, and violations of a protection order.

In one instance on November 21, 2019, she notified the police that Ford was heading to her home after being served with divorce papers and a temporary protection order.

On February 28, 2020, Melissa Banda informed the police that Ford had choked her, impeding her breathing, and at the same time, he threatened harm to their children.

Ford was arrested but released the following day.

After their divorce was finalized in April 2020, Ford was granted supervised visitation with their children, but he sought to modify the divorce decree. A court hearing was scheduled for August 6, 2020, and tragically, hours after the hearing, Ford appeared at Melissa Banda's home.

What followed was a horrifying incident where Ford forcefully grabbed her, covered her mouth, and wrestled her into a vehicle. Melissa's nanny and neighbors immediately contacted the authorities, reporting her kidnapping.

The lawsuit discloses that she was declared a missing person by the McAllen Police Department the following day. Ford was later arrested, but it was too late to save Melissa's life.

The lawsuit also alleges that the police department had a pattern of not treating cases involving domestic violence against women, especially Hispanic women, as seriously as other assault cases.

Cynthia Banda is seeking compensatory damages and reasonable attorney's fees from the court.

Ford faces charges including capital murder, terroristic threats in the course of aggravated kidnapping, assault on a family member by impeding breath or circulation, violation of a protective order involving stalking, and stalking.

The city of McAllen is located just north of the Texas-Mexico border, approximately 230 miles south of San Antonio.

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