The Bridgeport Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency in

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

, Fairfield County,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, 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 The Connecticut State Police (CSP) is a division of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection responsible for traffic regulation and law enforcement across the state of Connecticut, especially in areas not served by ...

Bridgeport was the first city in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

to deploy radio patrol police cars, in September 1933.

Leadership

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

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

Officer salary

In 2012, the maximum annual salary for police officers was $168,374. In 2020,

Connecticut Post The ''Connecticut Post'' is a daily newspaper located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It serves Fairfield County and the Lower Naugatuck Valley. Municipalities in the Post's circulation area include Ansonia, Bridgeport, Darien, Derby, Easton, ...

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.

Crime

The department operates within Connecticut's most populous city. Bridgeport has the 56th largest

metro area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually co ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Major standoffs

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.

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 A rent strike is a method of protest commonly employed against large landlords. In a rent strike, a group of tenants come together and agree to refuse to pay their rent ''en masse'' until a specific list of demands is met by the landlord. This can ...

in May 1971. 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". Rebeca Garcia eventually became acting police chief one month before the trial challenging her qualifications to be assistant chief is expected to take place. On September 10, 2020, police chief Armando Perez was arrested by the

on 2 counts of

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to fraud, defraud another, and are Federal crime in the United States, federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the ...

and three counts of

making false statements Making false statements () is the common name for the United States federal process crime laid out in Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code, which generally prohibits knowingly and willfully making false or fraudulent statements, or ...

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 The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan. Establishe ...

, known for their independence and competence nationally, and the

United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeals ...

. 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. 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 A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...

s. She required the two pay $149,405 in restitution to the city of Bridgeport as the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

recommended 24 months in prison. Perez is to be sentenced on January 4, 2021, while Dunn will be sentenced on January 11, 2021.

Popular culture

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

References

External links

Department home page
{{Law enforcement agencies in Fairfield County, Connecticut Government of Bridgeport, Connecticut Municipal police departments of Connecticut Organizations based in Bridgeport, Connecticut 1837 establishments in Connecticut