The deaths of Black women Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls have caused lawmakers in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to propose legislation that will ensure the families of people found dead will be notified promptly.
29-year-old Asia Maynard was found dead in Kansas City, Missouri, and her family is not satisfied with how the authorities are handling her case. The Kansas City Police Department and the medical examiner both told the family they saw no signs of foul play, but the family isn't satisfied with that assessment.
Black officers and the local NAACP chapter are calling for federal oversight of the Bridgeport police department that failed to investigate the deaths of Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Rawls. The department was under federal supervision from 1983 - 2010 for widespread discrimination.
Lauren Smith-Fieds' mother, Shantell Fields, is speaking out about what she calls the "biggest misconception regarding her daughter's death. And the Bridgeport Police Department has a history of corruption that goes beyond the mishandling of Smith-Fields' and Brenda Lee Rawls' cases.
Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim suspended Detectives Angel Llanos and Kevin Cronin over their alleged "lack of sensitivity" in the handling of the cases of Black women Lauren Smith-Feilds and Brenda Lee Rawls.
Matthew LaFountain, the 37-year-old Bumble date of 23-year-old Lauren Smith-Fields, who died during the date in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is cooperating with the criminal investigation into Smith-Fields' death, according to his attorney. But Fields family attorney Darnell Crosland remains unimpressed.
Bridgeport Police announced Tuesday that it is launching a criminal investigation into the death of Lauren Smith-Fields. Her mother, Shantell Fields, isn't impressed. Meanwhile, attorney Darnell Crosland credits rapper Cardi B with inspiring the investigation.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has determined that Lauren Smith-Fields died of "acute intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl, promethazine, hydroxyzine, and alcohol," and her death has officially been ruled an accident.
On what would have been Lauren Smith-Fields' 24th birthday, hundreds of people marched from the police department headquarters to the doorstep of the mayor’s office Sunday to demand answers and to call out the cruel and indifferent behavior the Bridgeport police are accused of.
The family of Lauren Smith-Fields, the Black woman who died after she was found unconscious in her Bridgeport, Connecticut, apartment and after a date with Matthew LaFountain, who she met on Bumble, is suing the Bridgeport Police Departments over allegations that the department is mishandling Smith-Fields case.
23-year-old Lauren Smith-Fields was found unconscious in her Bridgeport, Connecticut, apartment after she had been on a date with an older white man she met on the Bumble online dating app. Her brother, Lakeem Jetter, was told by police that the man she was with was a "nice guy" who didn't need to be questioned.
