BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — It’s been a mystery for more than a year that no one seems to have answers to. The young life of Lauren Smith Fields, suddenly cut short. Her family left wondering, what exactly happened the night she died?
"When I talk to this family sometimes the pain is just, it’s just unbearable," said Atty. Darnell Crosland, the family's attorney,
On December 11, 2021, the 23-year-old from Bridgeport was with a man she met on the dating app, Bumble. The next morning that man called 9-1-1 after finding her unresponsive.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled her death an accident saying she died of a mixture of alcohol and drugs.
But the details of what led up to that are still unclear more than a year later.
"I think the first thing it says to the family is that we don’t care," Crosland said.
He is representing the family and plans to sue the city of Bridgeport over the handling of this case. He said they are still waiting on public records that might give them the insight they’re looking for.
"We’ve asked for 911 calls that were made either from that individual to the city or maybe from that individual to police officers," Crosland said.
He said their asks have fallen into a sea of pending Freedom of Information Act requests the city is facing.
"While it gives us some solace to know that we’re not alone it also highlights the fact that other people are hurting as well that other people in the city aren’t getting answers as well," Crosland said.
The city of Bridgeport declined an interview but confirmed it has almost 3-thousand requests open and pending at this time.
Earlier this month officials announced the city will be implementing a new policy that involves each department handling its own requests-- to address what it called a “bottleneck delay.”
For Smith-Fields' family though the lack of answers from investigators started long before this so-called delay.
They were not notified of her death by police, but rather by her landlord.
"When they aren’t notified when their loved one dies, they come two days later find the note on her door, the disregard and disrespect starts right there," Crosland said.
That prompted a change on the state level with lawmakers at the capitol passing legislation that requires police departments to notify families of their loved ones’ death, within 24 hours.
"It was passed unanimous. Both blue and red, it was all green lights for yes. And so we’re happy that that passed because in the future, other people will benefit from that" Crosland said.
An internal affairs investigation into the Bridgeport Police Department’s handling of her death has been completed but what it found, continues to be one of the families’ many unanswered questions.
"We haven’t gotten the results of the internal affairs. Not a finding of yes, not a finding of no, just nothing," Crosland said.
Bridgeport police also started a criminal investigation into Smith-Fields’ death, led by its narcotics and vice unit. That investigation is still ongoing.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at gmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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