(NewsNation Now) — A pair of Connecticut police detectives have been placed on administrative leave in connection with their handling of separate cases in which two Black women were found dead in their apartments.
In a statement issued Sunday, Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim said he is “extremely disappointed with the leadership” of the Bridgeport Police Department’s handling of the deaths of 23-year-old Lauren Smith-Fields and 53-year-old Brenda Lee Rawls. An internal investigation of the officers’ actions is underway.
Lauren Smith-Fields, who is Black, was found dead in her home Dec. 12 after going on a date with an older white male, whom she met on Bumble, according to police reports. The man told police that he and Smith-Fields were drinking shots of tequila when she became ill. He carried her to her bedroom, laid down next to her and fell asleep. He told officers he woke up next to Smith-Fields at 6:30 a.m. to find that “blood was coming out of her right nostril” and “she was not breathing.” That’s when he called 911, police reports show.
On Monday, the Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner released its findings in the case, saying Smith-Field’s death was accidental and it was due to the combined effects of fentanyl, promethazine, hydroxyzine and alcohol.
Smith-Fields’ family has rejected the medical examiner’s findings and suspects that the young woman might have been drugged. No charges have been filed.
Smith-Fields’ family has questioned whether the police properly investigated her death. They learned of her passing from a note left on their door by their landlord.
“She had a full life ahead of her. She was beautiful inside and out and this is something that is so left field,” the woman’s brother, Tavar Gray-Smith, told NewsNation last week. “And for police to go to that scene and act like it was just no one of importance, that needs to be changed. We need to see some justice. The police need to be investigated.”
Another brother who saw Smith-Fields earlier in the day said she seemed normal and wasn’t acting as though she were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The family’s attorney also has said Smith-Fields did not use drugs.
Maria Pereira, a city councilwoman whose district includes Smith-Fields’ home, has publicly questioned whether race was a factor in the handling of the investigation.
“Do you think if a white mother or father had their 23-year-old white daughter die and the last person who saw her was an older Black man that she met on a dating site, do you think that would have been handled in the exact same way?” Pereira, a Democrat, said. “I’m sorry, I don’t believe that.”
The family of Rawls, who was also found dead in her Bridgeport apartment last month after a man she was with called police to say he had awoken to find her unresponsive, told a local news station they were never notified of the woman’s death and were told nobody could help them when they went to the police department seeking answers about the case.
The officers, whose names have not been released, are the subject of a Bridgeport Police Office of Internal Affairs investigation.
The supervisory officer tasked with overseeing the investigations of both women’s death resigned on Friday.
“I want to be clear to members of the public and the department that insensitivity, disrespect in action, or deviation from policy will not be tolerated by me or others in this administration,” Ginam said.
Smith-Fields’ and Rawls’ deaths have been reassigned to members of the Bridgeport Police Department and remain under investigation.
Darnell Crosland, an attorney for Smith-Fields’ family, said on Twitter that Ganim’s statement was a step in the right direction.
“The city is liable for the behavior of its police department and its officers. I am pleased that the mayor has accepted that liability publicly and has apologized to this family for the suffering they have endured,” he wrote.