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Public commenter raises concerns about police handling of local domestic-violence deaths
Summary
A resident urged the council to investigate disparities in police responses after contrasting the West Haven Police’s reported 2,800 investigative hours in one case with what she described as delays in other investigations into deaths of women and a child.
A West Haven resident, Vanessa Suarez of Quinnipiac Avenue, used the council’s public comment period on May 27 to criticize local police response in multiple domestic-violence deaths and to press the city for answers about investigative urgency and consistency.
“2,800 hours. I want you to remember that number,” Suarez said, referring to the amount of investigative time the speaker said the West Haven Police reported publicly in a different recent case. She contrasted that figure with what she said were fewer investigative hours and delays in another case she identified as the murder of Roya, and she urged council members to review discrepancies in how investigations are prioritized.
Suarez told the council she had filed a complaint with police and asked why, in her view, the lead officer on the case had not acted with urgency. She said, “If we are to ask how many total hours have been dedicated to Roya's investigation, 2 years ongoing, what would that number be?” Suarez said she believed there are “discrepancies in the way police investigate women's death, and it has everything to do with police bias and misogyny.”
Council chairman and staff responded with a procedural point of order about public-comment rules and whether speakers may name individual city employees; the chair deferred to counsel on that point. The chair allowed Suarez to continue speaking after the point of order was raised.
Suarez also told council members that “there are 3 women and 1 child within 2 years that have died because of domestic violence at the hands of someone they knew,” and she said those deaths should prompt further action and review. Suarez framed her remarks as a call for urgency and impartiality in investigations; she did not ask the council to take a specific administrative action at the meeting.
The council did not take action on her remarks during the meeting. The remarks were part of the public-comment portion of the agenda and represent the speaker’s views, not council findings or determinations about investigative procedures.
