A former communications director for Planned Parenthood committed suicide just days after a botched child pornography raid at his apartment building in New Haven, Connecticut, led to his neighbor's arrest.
On April 6, the New Haven Police Department raided the home of Stacey Wezenter, handcuffing the woman before realizing their mistake. Their target was Tim Yergeau, 36, a former strategic communications director at the South New England branch of Planned Parenthood, according to reports.
The New Haven Register reported that Yergeau committed suicide five days after the raid, as confirmed by the Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner on Tuesday.
"The person who died was definitely the suspect in a child pornography investigation and the person who committed suicide," New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson told Hearst Connecticut Media Group Wednesday.
But five days earlier, the Special Victims Unit broke down the wrong door, handcuffing Wezenter in front of her children.
"They obviously hit the wrong door," Jacobson said. "Unfortunately, a mistake was made. We feel for the woman, and we're going to do everything we can to make it right."
Jacobson, who has requested an internal affairs investigation into the botched raid, said there remain two open investigations into the matter. As a result, the search warrant application and information about what was found in Yergeau's apartment will not be released by police until they are certain there are no other suspects involved. It is possible that the state could decide whether to release the warrant.
Wezenter's door was broken down by police at about 6 a.m. They moved through her apartment, guns drawn.
"What if I had a gun permit?" she asked. "What if I came down the hallway with a gun? Would I have gotten shot? What if my 4-year-old had woken up? Would they have shot him? You just don't do that to people.
"I started running down the hallway; it was just like a movie," she added. "They had guns and flashlights on me. They put me against the wall and handcuffed me. I was crying and saying, 'What's happening?'"
Officers repeatedly asked Wezenter where the man in her home was hiding.
"I was like, 'What man? I'm here with my children. They asked, 'Who's Tim? 'and I said that's my neighbor downstairs."
After beginning to take notice of toys belonging to her 4-year-old son, officers reportedly realized they were in the wrong apartment. The officers then allegedly told Wezenter they had been surveilling her neighbor.
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