Hold Providence Police accountable for repeated violence
Hold Providence Police accountable for repeated violence
The Issue
We, the undersigned, request a federal forensic investigation by the Department of Justice into the Providence Police Department. Providence police have repeatedly violated the Police Misconduct Provision (34 U.S.C. § 12601) and have engaged in a pattern and practice of abuse of power which violates federal law and deprives citizens of their civil rights in direct violation of the Constitution of the United States.
We have tried engaging the police directly in community discussion and reconciliation to no avail. We have worked tirelessly with our Mayor, Jorge Elorza, who has been unable or unwilling to effect any significant improvements regarding policing in our capital city. We have petitioned our Attorney General, Peter Nerhona, to advocate on behalf of RI citizens regarding the Providence Police use of excessive force. Our petition garnered no response. We have appealed to and met with Keith Hoffman from the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Civil Rights Prosecution Unit. source: https://www.ri.gov/press/view/39981 Our appeals go unaddressed while the citizens of Providence continue to be subjected to police brutality and inhumane treatment by officers who are paid by our own tax dollars.
We therefore appeal to the United States Department of Justice to advocate for our community and protect our civil rights which continue to be violated by the very people entrusted to protect them.
We provide here several but by no means all, examples of such misconduct, by the Providence police department in an effort to demonstrate this pattern of abuse.
6/29/21: EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE against minors: SAYLES STREET: police officers respond to a call from a local family for support during a dispute with neighbors. Officers ultimately escalate incidents, pepper-spraying youth, and infants, handcuffing and detaining minors in a hot van without proper ventilation, denying their parents access or information about their well-being, verbally mocking a young woman calling her “a she-man”, and harassing the family who called them in for assistance.
See local coverage here: https://upriseri.com/blm-ri-sayles-st/
5/7/2021: Joseph Ventre age 34 dies in police custody after a wellness call placed by his family.
11/8/20: Police attack and assault Germain Bruce without cause. Bruce, a young black male, was helping a friend jump-start a car in Providence.
https://upriseri.com/2020-11-11-germaine-bruce/
10/23/20: Police deny citizens the right to peaceful protest. In response to the attack on Jaylon Butler on 10/21/20 and Jhamal Gonsalves on 10/17/20, nonviolent protesters march in Providence. Police meet them dressed in riot gear, holding batons, and block their access to Atwells Avenue.
Providence residents stage protests to stand against police misconduct and are met by police in riot gear and blockades set up to keep people from moving freely through the city.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=732424550676608&ref=watch_permalink
10/21/2020: The Providence Human Rights Commission Antiracism Committee denounces the illegal and oppressive tactics of the Providence Police Department.
https://upriseri.com/2020-10-21-phrc-jhamal/
10/20/20: Providence police deny citizens the right to peaceful protest and use excessive force. A group of nonviolent protesters, media, and medics are met, outnumbered, and overcome by officers dressed in riot gear who advanced on them using tear gas, pepper spray, batons, and verbal threats. During the course of the police’s excessive use of force against civilians, Jaylon Butler, a 28 y.o. participating in the nonviolent protest informs officers that he was experiencing a seizure and needed medical attention. His request is ignored and he was arrested. Once he finally received medical attention, he was hospitalized for several days, during which police denied his family visitation and access to information regarding his condition.
10/17/20- Jhamal Gonsalves - police engage in a high-speed car chase in a residential neighborhood violating vehicular pursuit order. Chasing unarmed, non-violent, 24 y.o. Jhamal Gonsalves riding a moped.
http://www.providenceri.com/sites/default/files/ppd-directives/330.02%20-%20Vehicular%20Pursuits.pdf
As a direct result of this chase, Jhamal’s bike crashes, leaving him motionless and unresponsive on the ground. Police moved his motionless body following the crash and the Police inappropriately administered Narcan. Providence police bodycam videos show police responding to this crash with grave disregard for Jhamal’s well-being which ultimately resulted in Jhamal remaining in a coma for months and continuing to suffer injuries from the misconduct
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/21/jhamal-gonsalves-providence-police-moped-coma/
6/20/20: Providence Police profile and abuse Terrell Paci, a black Providence firefighter, while he sits in a friend’s car outside the Messier St fire station where he works.
https://turnto10.com/news/local/providence-firefighter-allegedly-racially-profiled-by-city-police
4/19/20: Sergeant Joseph Hanley assaults Rishod Gore an unarmed black man. Gore is pulled from his car without cause and is assaulted by Hanley who handcuffs him, throws him to the ground, kneels on his neck, kicks him in the head, and verbally assaults him calling him an animal.
We request a full and thorough forensic investigation into the 2020 dismissal of Michael Clark, a black police recruit who was subjected to racial discrimination and harassment from his instructors during the Providence police academy and was dismissed just weeks before graduation from the academy.
ACLU Michael Clark vs Providence Police Department
The Mayor and city council of Providence are unresponsive to the community's need for safety for all our residents from abusive policing. In 2002 the city of Providence established ordinance No. 614 creating the Providence External Review Authority (PERA) to investigate any misconduct on the part of the Providence Police department, to make findings of fact and to make recommendations of potential disciplinary action to the Chief of Police. There is not adequate funding for PERA or an executive director, rendering it useless.
In addition, Rhode Island is the only New England State that has a Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights (LEOBoR) that prevents effective accountability abusive policing.
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE42/42-28.6/INDEX.HTM
We submit these requests with relevant supporting documents and urge the United States Department of Justice to defend the rights of the citizens of Providence, Rhode Island. We ask for a forensic investigation of the Providence Police Department which will lead to a strategic plan to implement changes within our police department and its training academy that will provide protection to our citizens and keep them from suffering further from police brutality. We seek increased accountability and transparency, more thorough training and oversight of police officers, and a strategic plan which may be implemented to stop this harassment and brutality of our citizens by the police.
616
The Issue
We, the undersigned, request a federal forensic investigation by the Department of Justice into the Providence Police Department. Providence police have repeatedly violated the Police Misconduct Provision (34 U.S.C. § 12601) and have engaged in a pattern and practice of abuse of power which violates federal law and deprives citizens of their civil rights in direct violation of the Constitution of the United States.
We have tried engaging the police directly in community discussion and reconciliation to no avail. We have worked tirelessly with our Mayor, Jorge Elorza, who has been unable or unwilling to effect any significant improvements regarding policing in our capital city. We have petitioned our Attorney General, Peter Nerhona, to advocate on behalf of RI citizens regarding the Providence Police use of excessive force. Our petition garnered no response. We have appealed to and met with Keith Hoffman from the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Civil Rights Prosecution Unit. source: https://www.ri.gov/press/view/39981 Our appeals go unaddressed while the citizens of Providence continue to be subjected to police brutality and inhumane treatment by officers who are paid by our own tax dollars.
We therefore appeal to the United States Department of Justice to advocate for our community and protect our civil rights which continue to be violated by the very people entrusted to protect them.
We provide here several but by no means all, examples of such misconduct, by the Providence police department in an effort to demonstrate this pattern of abuse.
6/29/21: EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE against minors: SAYLES STREET: police officers respond to a call from a local family for support during a dispute with neighbors. Officers ultimately escalate incidents, pepper-spraying youth, and infants, handcuffing and detaining minors in a hot van without proper ventilation, denying their parents access or information about their well-being, verbally mocking a young woman calling her “a she-man”, and harassing the family who called them in for assistance.
See local coverage here: https://upriseri.com/blm-ri-sayles-st/
5/7/2021: Joseph Ventre age 34 dies in police custody after a wellness call placed by his family.
11/8/20: Police attack and assault Germain Bruce without cause. Bruce, a young black male, was helping a friend jump-start a car in Providence.
https://upriseri.com/2020-11-11-germaine-bruce/
10/23/20: Police deny citizens the right to peaceful protest. In response to the attack on Jaylon Butler on 10/21/20 and Jhamal Gonsalves on 10/17/20, nonviolent protesters march in Providence. Police meet them dressed in riot gear, holding batons, and block their access to Atwells Avenue.
Providence residents stage protests to stand against police misconduct and are met by police in riot gear and blockades set up to keep people from moving freely through the city.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=732424550676608&ref=watch_permalink
10/21/2020: The Providence Human Rights Commission Antiracism Committee denounces the illegal and oppressive tactics of the Providence Police Department.
https://upriseri.com/2020-10-21-phrc-jhamal/
10/20/20: Providence police deny citizens the right to peaceful protest and use excessive force. A group of nonviolent protesters, media, and medics are met, outnumbered, and overcome by officers dressed in riot gear who advanced on them using tear gas, pepper spray, batons, and verbal threats. During the course of the police’s excessive use of force against civilians, Jaylon Butler, a 28 y.o. participating in the nonviolent protest informs officers that he was experiencing a seizure and needed medical attention. His request is ignored and he was arrested. Once he finally received medical attention, he was hospitalized for several days, during which police denied his family visitation and access to information regarding his condition.
10/17/20- Jhamal Gonsalves - police engage in a high-speed car chase in a residential neighborhood violating vehicular pursuit order. Chasing unarmed, non-violent, 24 y.o. Jhamal Gonsalves riding a moped.
http://www.providenceri.com/sites/default/files/ppd-directives/330.02%20-%20Vehicular%20Pursuits.pdf
As a direct result of this chase, Jhamal’s bike crashes, leaving him motionless and unresponsive on the ground. Police moved his motionless body following the crash and the Police inappropriately administered Narcan. Providence police bodycam videos show police responding to this crash with grave disregard for Jhamal’s well-being which ultimately resulted in Jhamal remaining in a coma for months and continuing to suffer injuries from the misconduct
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/21/jhamal-gonsalves-providence-police-moped-coma/
6/20/20: Providence Police profile and abuse Terrell Paci, a black Providence firefighter, while he sits in a friend’s car outside the Messier St fire station where he works.
https://turnto10.com/news/local/providence-firefighter-allegedly-racially-profiled-by-city-police
4/19/20: Sergeant Joseph Hanley assaults Rishod Gore an unarmed black man. Gore is pulled from his car without cause and is assaulted by Hanley who handcuffs him, throws him to the ground, kneels on his neck, kicks him in the head, and verbally assaults him calling him an animal.
We request a full and thorough forensic investigation into the 2020 dismissal of Michael Clark, a black police recruit who was subjected to racial discrimination and harassment from his instructors during the Providence police academy and was dismissed just weeks before graduation from the academy.
ACLU Michael Clark vs Providence Police Department
The Mayor and city council of Providence are unresponsive to the community's need for safety for all our residents from abusive policing. In 2002 the city of Providence established ordinance No. 614 creating the Providence External Review Authority (PERA) to investigate any misconduct on the part of the Providence Police department, to make findings of fact and to make recommendations of potential disciplinary action to the Chief of Police. There is not adequate funding for PERA or an executive director, rendering it useless.
In addition, Rhode Island is the only New England State that has a Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights (LEOBoR) that prevents effective accountability abusive policing.
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE42/42-28.6/INDEX.HTM
We submit these requests with relevant supporting documents and urge the United States Department of Justice to defend the rights of the citizens of Providence, Rhode Island. We ask for a forensic investigation of the Providence Police Department which will lead to a strategic plan to implement changes within our police department and its training academy that will provide protection to our citizens and keep them from suffering further from police brutality. We seek increased accountability and transparency, more thorough training and oversight of police officers, and a strategic plan which may be implemented to stop this harassment and brutality of our citizens by the police.
616
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Petition created on July 14, 2021