Two Bridgeport detectives, who egregiously fumbled the cases involving the deaths of Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls, have been suspended and placed on administrative leave.
They are also being investigated by the department’s internal affairs office.
Kevin Cronin and Angel Llanos may also face disciplinary action due to a “lack of sensitivity to the public and failure to follow police policy” in the handling of two cases involving the deaths of Black women.
Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim said in a statement:
It is an unacceptable failure if policies were not followed.
To the families, friends and all who care about the human decency that should be shown in these situations in this case by members of the Bridgeport Police Department, I am very sorry.
Brenda Lee Rawls, 53, was pronounced dead on December 12, 2021.
Bridgeport, Connecticut police never contacted her family, who learned about their loved one’s death from her neighbor.
For two days, the family called the police department, hospitals, and funeral homes.
They finally found Brenda’s body at the medical examiner’s office on December 14.
“We had to do our own investigation,” said Dorothy Washington, Ms. Rawls’s sister. “The police never notified us of her death.”
In later weeks, the family learned Detective Angel Llanos had been assigned to Brenda’s case.
They left him four messages and he never called them back.
Lauren Smith-Fields, 23, also died on December 12, 2021.
Police did not notify her family, they found out about Lauren’s death a day and a half later from her landlord.
Detective Kevin Cronin was assigned to Lauren’s case and much like his supervisor, Llanos, he ignored the family’s calls, messages, and pleas for help and information regarding the suspicious death of their loved one.
Both families are being represented by Darnell Crosland, who said both families have had to “grieve and advocate for justice at the same time.”
Source: NY Times
