And the media also asked the minister about the ongoing tensions between the widow of ASP Fitzroy Yearwood and the family of his former wife. His ex-wife's niece took to Facebook after his death to explain that for years, they have been trying to get custody of three of his kids, whom he had with his late wife. These three kids lived with their mother up until her passing, then ASP Yearwood took custody of them. And according to the post, the children claim they have endured verbal and emotional abuse at the hands of their father.
Since Yearwood's death, the children's cousin hoped that she could get custody of the kids, or at least visitation rights. However, up to now, they say they have had no luck, and they claim that the social worker in charge of their case is giving them the runaround.
Today, the Minister explained that with both mother and father having passed on - ultimately, it will be up to the court to decide what is best for the children.
Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Minister of Human Development
"Let me answer like this and I'll be very frank, social media can be a curse. What has happened in this case, I am not going to micromanage our director Mr. Shawn Vargas is extremely competent and experienced in this area, so there is no way I am going to go in and micromanage and tell you what I feel."
"The social media curse as it has rolled out in this case, is that what is happening to people is that they are getting one side of the story and you know people can use social media. I mean many of the allegations that has arisen and it has come to our attention, some of them are not true, many of them are twisted. Some of them really do not reflect all that is happening between the families."
"This is what I would wrap up by saying it is the court that will have to decide what is in the best interest of those children. This case has been going on for a long time, it's not today and the court will need to decide what is in the best interest and please let me stressed that what is in the best interest of those 2 children."
