Bridgeport Fire Official Placed On Leave Amid Sexual Assault Allegations: Police

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A senior officer with the Bridgeport Fire Department is being investigated in connection with sexual assault allegations and has been placed on leave, according to a city news release.

About 8 a.m. Thursday, a woman arrived at the firehouse on Central Avenue to report an incident involving her daughter and the officer, the news release said. The ranking official at the firehouse contacted emergency personnel, according to the news release, which said police are investigating the sexual assault allegations and the officer is on administrative leave.

“We will conduct a thorough investigation,” Acting Police Chief Rebeca Garcia said in a video posted by the fire department on Facebook, vowing to “bring justice to the victim.”

Acting Fire Chief Lance Edwards said in the video that the assault allegedly took place at the officer’s home, and that he had tried unsuccessfully to contact the officer and was “truly saddened” by the incident. Mayor Joe Ganim voiced his support for the victim.

“We stand with you, we stand behind you to protect you, as we should as a police department, as a fire department, as a city administration,” Ganim said in the video. “People will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law as the facts unravel.”