Detectives suspended over handling of 2 Black women's deaths

The death of Lauren Smith-Fields, 23, of Bridgeport caused by drugs and alcohol was ruled an accident, said the Connecticut Medical Examiner's Office. (Photo credit: GoFundMe- Justice for Lauren) Two police detectives in Connecticut's largest city have been suspended amid investigations into allegations of insensitivity in their handling of separate cases in which Black women were found dead in their apartments.In each of the two cases in Bridgeport, the families said police did not notify them of the deaths in a timely manner.The city's Democratic mayor, Joe Ganim, released a video statement Sunday saying he directed the Bridgeport Police Department's deputy chief to place the officers on administrative leave.

Ganim said both are subjects of an internal investigation, while a supervisory officer involved in the cases has retired.Ganim apologized to the families of Lauren Smith-Fields, 23, and Brenda Lee Rawls, 53, calling it an "unacceptable failure" if police department policies involving the death of a family member were not followed."I am extremely disappointed with the leadership of the Bridgeport Police Department and found the actions taken up until this point with regards to these two cases unacceptable," Ganim said in his statement. "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."Both cases remain under investigation and have been assigned to other officers, he said.The family of Smith-Fields has complained that authorities were not giving the investigation enough attention because she was African American.Smith-Fields, a college student, was found dead after a man she.