Providence, Central Falls sue Jeff Sessions and Justice Department
The cities of Providence and Central Falls—and in a separate suit, the state of Rhode Island—are taking the Department of Justice and US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to court over its manipulation of federal grant funds to support the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration agenda. The grant in dispute is the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice […]
RI state police force gets even whiter
There are 27 new state police troopers this year and 93% of them are white men. There is only one Hispanic man and only one women among the new officers and not one African American.
Providence cop pulls gun on man outside Burnside Park
Providence police try to document every incident when an officer pulls their gun on a suspect, but Clements said some officers don’t. “It’s an area that we constantly struggle with making sure that we document,” he said, noting that it happened at least 500 times in 2015.
Joyce Penfield always finds new ways to fight for racial, social justice
Reverend Joyce Penfield, of the St. Peter’s and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Providence, has been fighting for racial and social justice her entire life. “It’s been my calling since I was 13,” she said. Her father was a leader of the local Lutheran church in Phylo, Illinois – “I lived in a cornfield, honestly,” […]
Violence, protest at Tolman leads to dialogue, opportunity for students
There were no arrests, no protests, no pepper spray and, most importantly, no violence at Tolman High School on Friday. But after a series of surreal events at the Pawtucket high school – that began with a fight between a police officer and students on Wednesday and culminated on Thursday with police pepper spraying a […]
Time to change RI’s Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights law
A Providence police officer was arrested this week for texting death threats to a doctor. Last week, the same officer was arrested for threatening his police department bosses. In August, he was charged with possessing a gun with a scratched off serial number. In April, he was disciplined when a picture of him sleeping in […]
How Richard Cosentino died in Providence police custody
Richard Cosentino died in the custody of Providence police on Sunday. The way the police describe his death leaves a lot of doubt. Even from the police’s story, which is pretty much the only version we have, it appears they treated him too harshly, and he didn’t need to die. Like many of those who […]
Sandra Bland didn’t kill herself
Maybe we should have known, now that people’s videos have brought more public attention to police abuse, that it wouldn’t be long before some police returned to the “She killed herself” line. An African-American woman in Texas, Sandra Bland, was found dead in jail last week. A policeman had pulled her over for not signaling […]
Raimondo signs Community-Police Relationship Act into law
The room didn’t seem quite large enough for all the supporters that came out to watch Governor Gina Raimondo sign the Comprehensive Community-Police Relationship Act into law on Tuesday. The Act, a collaboration between legislators, law enforcement, and community members, seeks to analyze data that officers collect, as well as further protect juveniles and pedestrians. […]
Bill to help end racial profiling will become law
Legislation to help mend the bonds between the police and community after a year of national duress will cross Governor Gina Raimondo’s desk to be signed into law. The bill, known as the Comprehensive Community-Police Relationship act, requires that all police departments collect data on a subject’s race during traffic stops. The information will then […]
Bill would limit police searches of pedestrians, minors
Special Assistant Attorney General Joee Lindbeck testified that the AG’s office opposes the bill because it would require police officers to ask permission to search juveniles. She also said that the Attorney General’s office was not privy to the meetings between law enforcement and community group’s where the bill was put together.
Gun Task Force conduct shows need for more community policing in PVD
I chose to live in Providence. I have lived in other cities and moved back to the Capital City. Providence is a city with many wonderful things to offer, but big cities come with big problems. One of our problems is guns. We all agree there are too many on the streets and we, as […]
‘Bad Apples’
“One Bad apple” is what they say Explaining when cops go astray But now a better line might be “Be careful where you plant the tree” Like many men who join the force They choose a military course Of war beneath the desert sun Before they earn a policeman’s gun Most cops are filled with […]
NAACP studies racial representation of RI police departments
Saying a “deficiency in agency diversity” exists in police departments across Rhode Island, the NAACP Providence Branch has asked the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers to review the racial diversity and hiring practices of every police department in Rhode Island. “It’s part of making sure police departments are reflective of the communities they […]
ACLU chides PVD police for videotaping protests
The RI ACLU is asking the Providence Police Department to stop videotaping protests until it develops public policies and procedures for this increasingly controversial police tactic. “That this kind of surveillance is conducted is troubling,” said a letter from the ACLU to Providence Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Pare.” That it has been conducted repeatedly, without […]
Racial disparity in discretionary searches is up among PVD, state police
Racial disparities in Rhode Island traffic searches that don’t end in arrest increased have steadily increased for Providence and state police, according to an ACLU analysis of traffic stop data released earlier this year. “This most recent analysis indicates that the racial disparities in discretionary searches are not only continuing, but in many cases increasing,” […]
State Police to host Ferguson forum in South Providence
The Rhode Island State Police are hosting in South Providence on Monday night what a press release called a ““New Beginnings Community Outreach Forum: A Follow-Up to the Ferguson Decision.” According to the press release, “The forum will address the recent issues surrounding the grand jury decisions in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City and […]
Protesters’ lawyer wants state trooper call tapes
Shanna Kurland, the lawyer for five of the six people arrested November 25th for allegedly trespassing on the highway during a Ferguson protest here in Providence, asked for time to interview, “hundreds of witnesses” and view “countless hours of video” at the pretrial meeting held in district court before Judge Christine Jabour this morning. Molly […]
PVD police officer pinned protester down with skateboard
Providence police officer Robert Heaton was cleared of excessive forces allegations stemming from the arrest, pictured above, of Steven Roberts on Nov. 25 when #BlackLivesMatter protesters were blocking I-95 in Providence, according to Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare. “He assisted in using force necessary to effectuate the arrest,” Pare said. “There were 4/5 police officers […]
PVD Police Commissioner on Ferguson protest, John Prince, body cameras
Providence Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Pare said there were between 400 and 600 protesters in Providence last night, and “100 or so” who occupied and shut down Interstate 95 southbound for between 15 and 30 minutes. “When we started getting reports they were heading down the the highway,” he said, “we had some concerns about […]
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