Providence asks judge to block police sergeant who beat handcuffed man from returning to active duty
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'Quite simply, Sergeant Hanley's shocking betrayal of the public trust revealed that he is not worthy of the title or fit for the position of 'law enforcement officer,'' the
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April 2020 body camera video, Sgt. Joseph Hanley is seen kicking and verbally berating Rishod Gore, a man whom he was arresting on Tell Street in Providence.
Hanley's case was one of several that prompted state lawmakers to
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The changes, which took effect Jan. 1, included a new makeup of the panel, no longer allowing the accused officer to choose any of the panelists. But Hanley's case was heard under the old system.
The panel that reinstated Hanley included retired Providence Sergeant Robert Boehm, Hanley's pick; Providence Commander Timothy O'Hara, the city's pick; and Cranston Major Todd Patalano, the neutral pick.
Patalano, who was the chair, and Boehm voted to reinstate Hanley to the police force after a 45-day suspension, while O'Hara wanted to fire him.
'We think the LEOBOR panel got it wrong, we don't think Sergeant Hanley should be returned to the job, and we're going to vigorously pursue our appeal,' Smiley told the Globe on Wednesday.
The four-page appeal does not get into the specifics of the city's arguments. But Ragosta has said he plans to argue that certain evidence should not have been included in the administrative LEOBOR hearing, including testimony from Hanley that he had been offered a 45-day suspension from then-Commander Tom Verdi in 2020, before the city formally sought to fire him.
Hanley's lawyer said the political environment surrounding the murder of George Floyd by police in Minnesota, which happened days after Hanley was arrested for assault, prompted city leaders to seek Hanley's termination.
Verdi declined to comment on whether he had offered a suspension. He did not testify before the LEOBOR panel.
'We believe that there were a couple pieces of testimony or evidence taken into consideration in the LEOBOR hearing that should have been inadmissible or irrelevant, and we think that might have tainted the outcome of the panel,' Smiley said.
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Asked if he was willing to negotiate an exit deal with Hanley, Smiley said there were not any negotiations currently underway.
He noted that judges often instruct parties to try and come to an agreement. 'That's always an option, if the judge were to make us to do it.'
Other cities have paid embattled officers to leave their police departments. The city of Pawtucket
Dolan, who had admitted to shooting the teen but said it was in self-defense, was
Dolan had the same lawyer as Hanley, Michael Colucci.
Colucci praised the LEOBOR panel that
A judge convicted Hanley of assault in 2021, but a
City leaders say they are under no obligation to provide back pay to Hanley, which would total about $465,000 over the five years he's been suspended. Colucci has said he disagrees with that assessment, but he has not yet filed a court challenge seeking the back pay.
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State Representative
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'I'm grateful to Mayor Smiley for appealing a decision which was the failed last gasp of the LEOBOR process, where the one person on the panel who had to deal with the consequences of the ruling was outnumbered by two people who don't have to serve with the violent officer they put back on the street,' Hull said in a statement. 'Let's try to get this right.'
Steph Machado can be reached at
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