After a befuddling week away from the job during a heightened national media blitz, news-shy Acting Police Chief Rebeca Garcia has issued a letter to the Police Commission regarding her department’s investigative handling of the deaths of two women decried by families of the respective losses.
From Brian Lockhart, CT Post:
Acting Police Chief Rebeca Garcia has responded to criticism of the probes into two women’s deaths, but it appears unlikely–at least for now–that her thoughts will be shared with the public.
The chief, who recently went on vacation, has written a letter to the city’s police commissioners detailing her and her department’s handling of the probes into the untimely deaths of two Black women, Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls–investigations that drew national headlines last month and criticism from the mayor.
As of Wednesday, City Hall said the top cop’s correspondence, disseminated Tuesday to the mayoral-appointed police commission ahead of its regularly scheduled Feb. 15 meeting, would remain under wraps.
Danny Roach, who is employed by the city as an aide to Mayor Joe Ganim and is also the commission’s longtime chairman, confirmed he received a four-page letter Tuesday from Garcia “as to the version of events as she saw them” and forwarded it to fellow commission members ahead of their meeting next Tuesday.
Full story here.
Let’s start here from the Post, “Smith-Fields, 23, and Rawls, 53, died in unrelated incidents Dec. 12. Their families complained that they were not properly notified of the fatalities by police and, at least in the case of Smith-Fields, that investigators did not scrutinize the white man she had spent the night with. Their stories garnered attention on social media, resulting last month in intense national media coverage and hundreds protesting downtown Jan. 23.” A lot of people dropped the ball, the investigators, the Acting Chief was away, and Mayor Ganim was lost in space. The mayor suspended the two detectives but remember the two killings happen Dec. 12, 2021, and the “Smith-Fields, and Rawls haven’t heard anything, and everything points to Mayor Joe Ganim, he gets paid the big bucks and he should have stepped up and made the phone call or invited both grieving families to his office and offer his condolence and apologies to both families. Mayor Ganim you had a duty and a responsibility to reach out to Smith-Fields, and Rawls families and failed them and the city.
Breaking News: Bridgeport Detective Ron Mackey rules December 12, 2021 untimely death of two women as “killings”.
Are we blind to the dance ongoing with our officials? How do we find and request the information that allows us too see the bigger picture? Perhaps a note to the Chief….not all critical, as some may expect?
February 10, 2022
Dear Acting Chief Garcia:
We have not had much opportunity to develop a personal relationship as you may have with other citizens with whom you meet more regularly. However, perhaps you have some notion that I seek OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE, TRANSPARENT, and HONEST governance for Bridgeport. These are important values for institutions in building trust, confidence, and worthiness. They require discipline, practice, and support by leaders of such organizations.
I have had a chance in recent months to review material on the Police Department website. There seems an increase in linkages and some updates. Is this part of qualifying for Tier 1 designation? Most links are static and relatively unchanging entries, while others are historical listings of crimes, activities, or other reports, understood to be changing over time, and thus have multiple entries over time as one would expect.
I see links to Police Arrest Blotters and Crime Statistics, but it was only by accident that I stumbled on Department Demographics when I clicked on Policies and further clicked on Link to the demographics listing. It is a most valuable revelation to public and taxpayers that public safety may have vacancies in 25% or more of its authorized staffing. It has been one month since the last report January 20, 2022. Where does Public Safety stand one month later on February 10? And why bury this important City statistic in the Policy pages rather than as a linkage by itself, with perhaps a format used at budget time where the Police force is broken into ten categories for comprehension? Where are the retirements leaving the department with loss of experience? Where are resignations happening?
This is big picture material. Instead of a four-page letter dealing with the specific issues of the deaths of two citizens or more being private between your office, the Mayor, and the ever silent and publicly neglectful Police Commissioners, keep us informed on the big picture, please. Peace and health.
John Marshall Lee
The CAFR 2021 is out, available on Ken Flatto Finance site, 172 pages in length, and will be the subject of B&A subcommittee on Monday evening Valentine’s day. Dated February 8 it missed reporting the Gueddes closing of our only downtown hotel on February 4, last week. Perhaps toe closing is not significant in downtown development history? Time will tell.
Speaking of time, is it any coincidence that when referred to the City web site I looked up a notice or two and discovered that one year ago, to the exact day, Mayor Ganim, by way of an Executive Order appointed 10 local citizens to the Bridgeport Advisory Task Force on Public Safety. So February 10, 2021 the group followed through on all the ‘whereas’es and I stand informed by the closing that unless extended by another big signature and heavy pen lifting by Ganim2, that the group was to be terminated on 12/31/2021. What happened? Where’s the news? Reforms abound but “acting” drag continues to effect the City with Commissions and Board appointments or failure to tell what makes a quality member, unsupported by the administration with ‘power sharing’ of legal, administrative, or financial assists and yet the money spending keeps increasing. Quality government? Values supporting OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE, TRANSPARENT, and HONEST governance? Look at governance by Executive Order as if the Federal examples in recent years are not sufficient lesson about necessary governance repair? Time will tell.
JML, are we blind to the dance or just not looking, requesting, searching, seeking information that allows humanity to peer into the present that binds you to the jig of the past? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JcmQONgXJM
Are we destined to peer into an endless past like James Webb’s Telescope looking out into the void emptiness of space as it scams for rays of light traveling through space/time of the universe’s past?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG_G6rZHp1A
Was there a bigger picture when the founding forefathers set forth to the creation of this nation with the ideals, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxc6iqRC-n8
JML. I cannot truly speak on what information is considered buried, leakage, or what tier of government bureaucracy falls on in Port’s governance. However, while you may have stumbled upon a link of leakage on BPD demographics that revealed only one black Detective that information had to be widely known and available among the rank-and-file of officers.
Perhaps a letter to the Guardians or the Hispanic Society, the minority (non-white) organizations within the BPD to assist you on the racial demographic makeup in the departments. Surely, these minority groups can provide you with the needed information you seek in your quest for open, accountable transparent, and honest governance for Bridgeport, breaking that wall of silent bureaucracy. It might even be in their interest, No?
BTY, it may not be known to you like it wasn’t for Council Cruz when he unwittingly laid down the Hispanic race card, but when you capitalize words in texts like OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE, TRANSPARENT, and, HONEST, to the younger generations you are either shouting out those words or lying about them. It’s a generational thing, similar to the uses of emojis, While I know you and I were not born into the era of tech it is similar to Ancient Egypt Hieroglyphs without the Rosetta Stone, which can be challenging to decipher at times. 🙂
I will give you the benefit of the doubt, like Cruz. You were either unaware or the latter and were yelling those words from the rooftop. I mean why would you lie or make up something about wanting Open, Accountable, Transparent, and Honest in governance for the Port.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDWq_YFHc9o
P.S Speaking of pictures, emojis, and finding shit, as always, I will depart with the Prophet Eminem💣,✌🚀, 👁🗨😀🚀🌏, 🤣
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtJGiEmIres
This OIB-carried story concerning the very disturbing — and revealing — situation involving the insensitive, inept handling of two, coincident, untimely deaths of black women by the Bridgeport Police Department, in the context of inaction/silence by its oversite offices/officials, raises disturbing questions concerning our police department, as well as Bridgeport city government in an overall context.
One of the big questions here (in the context of constancy), is “Who’s minding the store?!”
I recall reading about long-serving, Boston mayor Tom Menino starting each day at 6 AM with calls to his police and fire department heads. He often responded to and was present at police and fire department calls. He was a champion of NEIGHBORHOOD POLICING and actively involved in its development and oversite in Boston — where it was credited with the “great miracle” of bringing Boston’s homicides from 152 in 1990 to 31 in 1999. The buck always stopped at Mayor Menino’s desk.
We certainly don’t have that sort of administrative commitment in Bridgeport City Hall at this point in time — nor have we had it since the McClevy Administration (although John Fabrizi was clearly in the process of creating that sort of personal, professional agenda when it tragically collided with his demons…)
While G1 wasn’t in love with the concept of neighborhood policing — nor with the idea of a high level of competence and independence at the top of the BPD — G2 has actively sought to stifle and suffocate neighborhood policing in any form (as well as any sort of independent, neighborhood-level civic initiative/policy development for any of the gamut of neighborhood-level concerns…). Perhaps more importantly, he has placed problematic people in the top administrative/decision-making position of the BPD — even as the demands on that public-safety arm have undergone a drastic increase….
Indeed, in regard to the “independence” of the BPD, in the paradoxical context of lack of oversite/administrative back-up, we have the situation of “… Danny Roach, who is employed by the city as an aide to Mayor Joe Ganim and is also the [Police Commission] commission’s longtime chairman…”.
The quoted situation raises lots and lots of questions… For starters, we have to wonder why one person in Mayor Ganim’s employ is wearing so many (conflicting) civic and professional hats, even as they are ineffectual in those roles… (Look beyond the present concern and think “airport fumble” — another lost asset, in addition to UB, The Discovery Museum, Bearsdley Park, et al., going back to G1).
But back to the original topic: As called out by Ron Mackey several times in recent posts; Where was Mayor Ganim when everything was falling apart in the BPD as the impending deaths of two black women on the same day/same neighborhood, and incompetent investigations into such, loomed. And where was the mayor when the grieving families beseeched the BPD and Bridgeport officials for some sensitivity and answers?!
Who’s minding the store?! Do our highest public officials actually care a wit about this city and its people?!
Do our state and federal representatives pay any attention, past Election Day, to the state of the City of Bridgeport? Does Governor Lamont have no shame as to the failure of his state’s largest city?
I would quote JML in this regard, but we already know the answer to the above questions. The answer — for all of the questions — is, of course, NO! (Although, that answer could change if the above officials were associated with a failing city on national news — just in time for their next elections cycles…)
It’s time to implement the Samowitz Plan…
Could it be, that the Bridgeport Police Department is protecting one of their own ???
If it walks like a duck, Quacks like a duck, you can deduce with a fair amount of certainty that it is a Flucking – COVER UP!