Woonsocket Radio News Room

STATE HOUSE – The first meeting of a special legislative task force to review and provide recommendations on policies pertaining to the Rhode Island Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights is scheduled Wednesday.

The meeting is scheduled Wednesday, July 22, at 1:30 p.m. in the Senate Lounge. The meeting will include the appointment of a chairperson and an overview by the National Council of State Legislatures on state statutes pertaining to LEOBOR and recent trends regarding community-police relations. No public testimony will be taken at this meeting. The State House remains closed to the public as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hearing will be televised on Capitol Television, which can be seen on Cox on Channels 15 and 61, in high definition on Cox Channel 1061, on Full Channel on Channel 15 and on Channel 34 by Verizon subscribers. It will also be live-streamed at www.rilegislature.gov/CapTV. Media members wishing to arrange for in-person coverage are asked to contact Greg Paré at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The task force, created by legislation sponsored by Sen. Harold M. Metts and approved by the Senate June 18, is to comprehensively study and provide recommendations on the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBOR), to ensure accountability and protection against misconduct. Adopted in Rhode Island in 1976, the LEOBOR protects officers accused of misconduct, preventing them from being immediately fired or put on leave without pay, and allowing their continued employment to be decided by a panel of other police officers. The law has been widely criticized by many who believe it prevents justice from being served when officers are abusive.

“Public safety officers are to protect public safety, and there should not be ways to prevent those who pervert justice from being held accountable,” said Senator Metts (D-Dist. 6, Providence), who will serve on the task force. “The black, brown and southeast Asian communities have long called for genuine reform of this law to protect our safety. While it shouldn’t take widely distributed videos of police brutality and murder, as well as worldwide protests, to finally bring about change, I’m hopeful that our call is finally too great to ignore.”

The 13-member task force includes:

·         Senator Metts

·         Sen. Cynthia A. Coyne (D-Dist. 32, Barrington, Bristol, East Providence)

·         Sen. Gordon E. Rogers (R-Dist. 21, Foster, Coventry, Scituate, West Greenwich)

·         Attorney General Peter F. Neronha

·         State Police Superintendent Col. James M. Manni

·         Providence Police Chief Col. Hugh T. Clements Jr.

·         Rhode Island Human Rights Commission Executive Director Michael Évora

·         NAACP Providence Branch President James Vincent

·         Anthony Capezza Jr., representing the Rhode Island AFL-CIO

·         Latino Policy Institute Director Marcela Betancur

·         Providence External Review Board Executive Director Jose F. Batista

·         Rev. Howard M. Jenkins Jr.

·         Rev. Chontell N. Washington

 

The resolution creating the task force calls for it to study protection of the rights of residents, conduct and accountability responsibilities, police relations with racial and ethnic minority communities, police management, disciplinary procedures, enhanced training for cultural competency and mental health, and diversity in all law enforcement agencies. The task force is to report to the Senate by Feb. 9, 2021.

Six jurors have been chosen for the Donald Trump New York City trial. The process is at the half-way mark and the jury selection process will continue until a panel of 12 New Yorkers and six alternates have been selected. The former President is accused of falsifying business records in order to cover up payments made to an adult film star just prior to the 2016 election.        The House has delivered its articles of impeachment against the Homeland Security secretary to the Senate. In February, Alejandro Mayorkas became the first Cabinet official to be impeached over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. All 100 senators will be sworn in Wednesday for a trial that isn't expected to last long. Democrats are expected to vote to either table or dismiss the matter.        The U.S. is preparing new sanctions on Iran after they launched a weekend drone and missile attack on Israel. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced the move today at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's spring meetings. Yellen said her agency will work with U.S. allies to continue to disrupt Tehran's "malign and destabilizing activities."        Google is facing protests from some of its workers over its contract to provide cloud services to Israel. A group of employees began a sit-in in the workspace of Google Cloud's CEO at the company's San Francisco-area offices Tuesday morning. They said they would not leave until Google met its demands to pull out of the contract.        O.J. Simpson's executor is softening his comments about whether the Goldman family will receive any money from Simpson's estate. Simpson was acquitted of the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown-Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, but was later found liable for 33-and-a-half million dollars in a civil judgment. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, attorney Malcolm LaVergne [[ lah VERN ]] said, "Fred Goldman's claim will be accepted and handled in accordance with Nevada law."        The NBA Play-In Tournament is set to begin tonight. In the Western Conference, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will visit Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans in a matchup to decide the seventh seed. Elsewhere, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors look to keep their season alive against De'Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings. The winner of the game will advance to play for the eighth seed on Friday.        

Old News Archives