Providence police officers allege they suffered hearing loss because of ‘defective' headsets during 2022 shootout
The lawsuit alleges Safariland's 'Liberator' headsets lost power during a standoff with a heavily armed man, Scott MacLean, 61, who, authorities have said, fired
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Police returned fire. Investigators later determined
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During the firefight, however, the Liberator headsets worn by officers malfunctioned, the lawsuit alleges.
As result, officers Daniel Carignan, Matthew Greely, Frank Moody, Sean Comella, Andre P. Elie, Jr., and Eric Cuellar, lost communication with dispatchers and between themselves, and were left 'without sufficient sound protection from the compression impact and loud noises,' the lawsuit alleges.
'Each of the plaintiffs suffered hearing loss, other injuries to their ears, inner ears, and sustained other severe personal injuries from the impact of the noise from the firing of their own weapons, and from the firing of the weapons of their fellow officers,' the lawsuit states.
Moody told
'It just failed, and we found out that we had severe, immediate hearing loss,' he said, adding that he now wears hearing aids.
The first officer to shoot back at MacLean, Moody told
David Caprio, an attorney for the six officers, did not immediately return a request for additional comment on Friday.
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According to the complaint, Safariland supplied police with 33 headsets under a city contract and 'marketed, advertised and sold the Liberators as a product that was safe which had exceptional convergence of communication and hearing protection to be used in the field during many situations, including firefights.'
Prior to the shooting, Providence police had already noticed 'battery drainage problems and power loss issues' with the Liberators and sent them back to the manufacturer for repair, the lawsuit alleges.
The headsets were then sent back to police sometime during or around January 2022 and the company 'represented that the Liberators were repaired and fully functional,' the lawsuit states.
After the alleged malfunction during the February firefight, the headsets were again sent back to Safariland for the same issue, according to the complaint.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at
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