Connecticut police union seeks to restore officers suspended over handling of Black women’s deaths

The Connecticut police union representing two officers who were suspended recently over the investigations of the deaths of Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls says it will file grievances to have them restored to duty.

Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim announced Sunday that Detective Kevin Cronin and Detective Angel Llanos had been placed on leave in response to public outcry.

They were in charge of handling the death investigations involving Smith-Fields, 23, and Rawls, 53, both Black women who died Dec. 12 in Bridgeport.

Family members of both women have accused police of not taking the cases seriously and said authorities failed to notify them about their loved ones' deaths.

“It’s regrettable the city has chosen to blame the police," the Bridgeport Police Union president, Sgt. Brad Seely, told NBC Connecticut. "We caution against a rush to judgment until we have all the facts surrounding this case.”

"We will file grievances over the placement of Detectives Llanos and Cronin on administrative leave to restore them back to full duty status," Seely said.

"The Bridgeport police union extends our deepest sympathy and sorrow to the families and friends of Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Rawls, whose untimely deaths have brought unimaginable pain," he said.

The police union and a city spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

It is not clear whether the grievances have been filed yet.

Cronin and Llanos are subjects of internal affairs investigations and face disciplinary action “for lack of sensitivity to the public and failure to follow police policy in the handling of these two matters,” Ganim said Sunday.

The mayor said they were suspended and would remain on leave until the internal probe and disciplinary cases are completed.

Smith-Fields was found unresponsive Dec. 12 in her Bridgeport apartment by a man she had met on Bumble, who called police to report that he had awakened to find her unresponsive with a nosebleed.

Last week, the state medical examiner’s office ruled that Smith-Fields’ death was an accident resulting from acute intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl, promethazine, hydroxyzine and alcohol.

Rawls was found dead at a Bridgeport residence the same day. Her cause and manner of death are pending.

Their deaths remain under investigation and have been reassigned within the police department.

The police department told NBC Connecticut that it plans to create a victims advocate program to better notify families of loved ones’ deaths in response to the backlash.