Illegal Immigrant in Connecticut Charged With Manslaughter After Collision With Police Officer

State lawmakers also demanded the suspect’s driving and voting records.

An aerial view of fall foliage in the city of Danbury, Conn., on Oct. 17, 2025. John Moore/Getty Images

An illegal immigrant living in Connecticut has been charged with two counts of second degree manslaughter, drunken driving, and speeding following a head-on collision with a motorcycle on July 13 resulting in the death of an off-duty police officer and his girlfriend.

Melissa Esperanza Ramirez, 27, of Stamford, was arrested on July 24 by the Danbury Police Department. She is being held on a $500,000 bond.

She told police she had just finished a 14-hour shift at a Peruvian store in Stamford and was driving to Newtown to see her children. She stopped to visit a friend on the way, she said.

Ramirez was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol on Sugar Hollow Road in Danbury when she veered into oncoming traffic in her SUV about 2:45 a.m. July 13, according to the police department.

Ramirez allegedly struck Bridgeport, Conn., officer Cooper Whiteside, 38, and his girlfriend Brittany Islami, 34.

Ramirez was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Whiteside and Islami were pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Ramirez allegedly tested with a blood alcohol content of 0.14—nearly twice the legal limit—after the accident and tested positive for cannabis, according to the arrest warrant.

The Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer for her arrest.

Ramirez’s attorney Daniel Thibodeau did not return a request for comment.

Melissa Esperanza Ramirez, 27, of Stamford, Conn., was arrested July 24, 2026, for allegedly killing an off-duty police officer and his girlfriend while driving impaired. Danbury Police Department

Bridgeport Police Department said the loss was heartbreaking. Whiteside joined the department two years earlier.

“There are no words that can truly capture the sorrow of a loss like this. Our department is heartbroken by the devastating loss of Officer Cooper Whiteside and Brittany Islami,” the department stated on Facebook July 14. “Cooper proudly served the City of Bridgeport with honor, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to protecting others.”

Islami was a mother of three children ages 12 and under.

Katelyn Nakano, the aunt of Islami’s children, created a fundraising page to support them after the loss of their mother. The site had raised more than $54,000 by Thursday afternoon.

“Early Monday morning, our family suffered a heartbreaking loss,” Nakano stated on the page. “Her three children … were the center of her world. They are now facing the unimaginable loss of their mother while their family works to navigate this difficult new reality.”

Connecticut House Republicans demanded a public accounting of Ramirez’s driving and voting records following her arrest.

“She’s charged in the deaths of two people, gets her bond reduced because she has ties to the community, and we’re supposed to move on?” the Republicans said in a statement.

“That’s unacceptable to us and our constituents,” they added. “Regardless of what people in and around Governor Lamont’s administration might think or project in their media statements, Connecticut residents do care about the integrity of our fundamental systems, whether it’s voting or public safety.”