Brenda Rawls' Cause Of Death Released By Bridgeport Police

BRIDGEPORT, CT — Brenda Rawls died of natural causes, according to Bridgeport police.

Rawls’ death gained media attention nationwide after her family said police did not properly notify them of the fatality or investigate it, according to the Connecticut Post, which reported Rawls, 53, died of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Police received a final report Tuesday from the state medical examiner's office indicating the cause of death was natural after law enforcement responded Dec. 12 to the fatality, Acting Chief of Police Rebeca Garcia said in a video posted on Twitter by the department.

“At this time I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the friends and family of Ms. Rawls,” Garcia said in the video. “We recognize that waiting for the results of the death of a loved one can be agonizing. I hope that by receiving these results it will aid in closure and healing for friends, family and members of the community.”

The detectives who first investigated the deaths of Rawls and Lauren Smith-Fields are the subjects of an internal affairs probe into how the cases were handled, according to the Post. Rawls and Smith-Fields, who are both Black, died on the same day, and their cases have come under national scrutiny, the Post reported.

Rawls’ sister, Dorothy Washington, told the Post that Bridgeport “dropped the ball” and “treated the family like trash,” and said her family intends to sue the city.

Read more from the Connecticut Post.