Bridgeport Police Department

The Bridgeport Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency in Bridgeport, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is responsible for most law enforcement within the geographical boundaries of City of Bridgeport, with the exception of:

  • City parks, which are handled by the Bridgeport Park Police Department
  • Most judicial warrants and judicial process, which are handled by the Fairfield County State Marshal
  • Highway patrol, which is handled by the Connecticut State Police
Bridgeport Police Department
Patch of Bridgeport Police Department
Patch of Bridgeport Police Department
AbbreviationBPD
Agency overview
Formed1837 (1837)
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionBridgeport, Connecticut, United States
Map of Bridgeport Police Department's jurisdiction
Size19.4 square miles (50 km2)
Population137,912[1]
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersBridgeport, Connecticut
Agency executive
Website
Bridgeport Police

Bridgeport was the first city in New England to deploy radio patrol police cars, in September 1933.[2]

Leadership

Rebeca Garcia was appointed by Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim as acting chief, a few hours after her predecessor was arrested by the FBI.[3]

Officer salary

In 2012, the maximum annual salary for police officers was $168,374. In 2020, Connecticut Post sent a Freedom Of Information Request to Bridgeport. It was discovered former police Chief Armando Perez earned $461,061 in 2019. 61 out of the 100 highest earners in Bridgeport were police officers in 2019.[4]

Crime

The department operates within Connecticut's most populous city. Bridgeport has the 56th largest metro area in the United States.

July 2008 standoff

This was a seven-hour standoff situation off Capital Avenue with a mentally unstable man who was heavily armed and believed he was a Soviet spy. The man barricaded himself in his home with his family, including his wife and several children. The standoff lasted for several hours and was a top story in Connecticut.

January 2008 standoff

In January 2008 a 30-minute standoff occurred. Several buildings and streets were evacuated to make way for police. After 30 minutes the police arrested the man for breach of peace.

June 2007 standoff

A two-day-long standoff resulted in Andy Garcia being arrested. The situation apparently started when police received a shots-fired call in the middle of the day. Someone reported the suspect's name and licence plate number to police, which led them to a house on Seaview Avenue. When they arrived, a man opened fire. Police evacuated the neighborhood, blocked off the street and put the house under surveillance.[5]

March 2005 standoff

In March 2005, a man was arrested after shooting at and having a standoff with Bridgeport police officers. Police responded to a dispute call with guns involved on Black Rock Avenue. According to police the suspect had two shotguns and a rifle in the apartment, and was firing at Bridgeport police while having a dispute with a woman.

Controversies

In April 1972, community members in Bridgeport sued members of BPD, along with other city officials, over a charge of police brutality during police action spurred by a rent strike in May 1971.[6]

In 2019, Rebeca Garcia was approved by the City Council as the city’s first female Hispanic assistant police chief. The very next day she was sued. Police captains Brian Fitzgerald, Steven Lougal, and Roderick Porter, and Deputy Police Chief Anthony Armeno, who is behind the lawsuit, alleged her appointment was “unlawful and invalid.” The lawsuit alleges that “The plaintiffs possess qualifications, in the least, equal to those of Captain Rebecca (sic) Garcia, and, under the City Charter must be allowed to compete for the position of assistant police chief, unless legitimately disqualified".[7] Rebeca Garcia eventually became acting police chief one month before the trial challenging her qualifications to be assistant chief is expected to take place.[3]

On September 10, 2020, police chief Armando Perez was arrested by the FBI on 2 counts of wire fraud and three counts of making false statements alongside acting personnel director of Bridgeport David Dunn. Perez faces 50 years while Dunn faces 40. The investigation was a collaboration between the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, known for their independence and competence nationally, and the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. According to the news release, Perez and Dunn rigged Bridgeport's chief search to ensure Perez would be chosen. The investigation occurred in part thanks to An unnamed officer, who is labeled in court documents as "Officer-1", and his collaboration with federal agents. The documents reveal “Officer-1” recorded most of the incriminating conversations both under the command of the FBI and not under the command of the FBI. He began the recordings soon after his retirement and revealed that he along with others had a central part in the fraud. After Perez's arrest, Perez immediately resigned, and Joe Ganim replaced him with Assistant Police Chief Rebeca Garcia in an acting role.[3] On Monday, October 5, 2020, Perez and Dunn both pleaded guilty to all charges in US District Court in front of Judge Kari A. Dooley as they waived Grand Jury indictments. She required the two pay $149,405 in restitution to the city of Bridgeport as the United States Department of Justice recommended 24 months in prison. Perez is to be sentenced on January 4, 2021, while Dunn will be sentenced on January 11, 2021.[8]

In the 2008 film Pistol Whipped, Steven Seagal plays a former cop from the Bridgeport Police Department.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Connecticut" (CSV). 2006 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. 2006. Retrieved June 28, 2007.
  2. "City of Bridgeport | Police Department | History". Archived from the original on 2010-09-16. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  3. O'Neill, Tara. "FBI: Bridgeport police chief, personnel director charged with fraud, false statements". ctpost.com. CT Post. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  4. Ryan, Lidia. "RSalaries: Bridgeport's top 10 earners of 2019". ctpost.com. CT Post. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  5. A picture of this standoff
  6. Times, Jonathan Kandell Special No The New York (1972-04-07). "Bridgeport Suit Alleges Police Brutality". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  7. Tepfer, Daniel. "Lawsuit challenges Bridgeport assistant police chief pick". ctpost.com. CT Post. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  8. Tepfer, Daniel. "Perez, Dunn each face 2 years after pleading guilty to conspiring in Bridgeport police chief search". ctpost.com. CT Post. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  9. Pistol Whipped (Video 2008) - IMDb, retrieved 2022-05-01
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