Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

« WPRI poll: Clinton holds 9-point lead over Obama | Today | Chelsea Clinton stays on target at Roger Williams »

February 29, 2008

Update: Police chief says officers used 'great restraint'

EAST PROVIDENCE -- Police Chief Hubert Paquette emphasized this afternoon that his officers used "great restraint" during a struggle with a 40-year-old man who fell unconscious and died.

But he acknowledged that his department "mistakenly" interpreted protocol in belatedly informing the state attorney general of the death.

In a statement issued at a late-afternoon press conference -- the department's first since the Wednesday evening incident was announced in a statement yesterday afternoon -- the chief said his officers "risked great personal injury" rather than use deadly force.

The reason his department delayed notifying the attorney general's office, the chief said, was because his officers did not use methods of restraint defined as deadly force.

Instead, he said, they used verbal commands, "OC" spray, and strikes to the body, which he said "are commonly used by police departments."

A cause of death has not yet been determined for Leonel Farias, a 6-foot, 300-pound man diagnosed as schizophrenic and diabetic, who confronted the police with a steak knife when they responded to a help call from his 513 James St. home.

For the first time, Paquette indicated how many officers may have been on the scene. He said three members of the force initially responded and encountered Farias in front of his house early Wednesday evening.

One of them, a female, sustained enough injuries in struggle with Farias so that she is now on
leave.

Two other officers, he said, who also were injured to some degree, are still on the job.

Last night, in an interview with a Journal reporter, family members alleged the officers continued beating Farias after he'd been knocked out with chemical spray and was down. Farias was later pronounced dead at Rhode Island Hospital.

Yesterday afternoon, a spokesman for Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said it “is troubling and does not inspire confidence” in the East Providence Police Department that the attorney general's office was not notified by the police of the death until 8:30 a.m. yesterday. “You can’t reconstruct a scene 15 hours after the fact,” spokesman Michael J. Healey yesterday. “That’s the salient issue here.”

In a Journal interview earlier today, Paquette admitted his department had made a protocol mistake in not informing the AG's office sooner. He also said he has sent out a department memo to prevent such late notification from happening again.

He also said at the press conference that he had wanted to look at reports of the incident before holding the press conference. He did not release any reports.

-- With reports from projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:37 PM | Permalink

Comments

It's funny how the ACLU is very quiet. Was this gentleman's skin color the wrong shade? Does this gentleman's family have anyone from advocacy groups such as the ACLU looking to help?

Mike Kimble | February 29, 2008 6:39 PM link

FIRST OF ALL MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE FARIAS FAMILY. I GREW UP WITH LEO AND HIS BROTHER JOE, WE WERE LIKE BROTHERS, HIS WHOLE FAMILY ARE WONDERFUL PEOPLE. MY COMMENT IS THIS. I LIVED IN EAST PROVIDENCE FOR 29YEARS, I NOW LIVE IN FL. I HAVE SOME GOOD FRIENDS IN THE EP POLICE DEP. BUT SOME WERE PUNKS USING THE UNIFORM FOR POWER AND INTIMIDATION. MANY A NIGHTS GETTING OUT OF WORK I WOULD GET PULLED OVER, AND QUESTIONED WERE I WAS GOING, I FIT THE DISCRIPTION OF SOMEONE, WHO DID THE CAR BELONG TO, ALL FOR NO REASON. AND I WORKED THREE BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE. IM SORRY IT HAPPENED TO MY BEST FRIEND BUT EPROV. POLICE GOD FORGIVE ME THEY DESERVE WHATEVER PUNISHMENT THEY GET. GOD BLESS YOU AND WATCH OVER YOU LEO. WILL MISS YOU BRO.

jrgcardoso | February 29, 2008 9:05 PM link

Well, I know one thing. If beating a man to death even after he was unconcious is not use of deadly force I don't know what is. If the Chief is correct in that the protocol that calls for his notification to the AG's office after a death does not include the pummeling and death of a prisoner, then there needs to be a change made at once to the protocol. Chief, although it is true that the use of body strikes is implemented in some efforts at physical restraint in some police forces, it is always unacceptable for peace officers to beat a restrained prisoner to death under a pure adrenaline frenzy. This sort of police brutality on a restrained prisoner is un-american and unacceptable under the norms of a civilized society. One of these officers even threatened a horrified and dismayed family member for trying to intervene in the beating death of her brother. That a department head would come forward and defend this sort of action with transparent excuses rather than admit that a terrible and horrendous act has taken place is reprehensible. There is no place for this sort of excessive force in the United States of America and it has been repudiated time and time again. Many officers nationwide have been held accountable for perpetrating it. Surely in the State of Rhode Island if public officials can be fired for being responsible for holding traffic up in a New England snowstorm, then they should be fired as well for brutalizing and for having the mendacity to defend it after the fact.

Tom Thompson | February 29, 2008 9:19 PM link

Everyone forgets that the Cops are the one's that are there to protect us. They are the ones who responded to the call and they are the ones who tried everything to subdue the man without using their weapons. This shows great restraint by the officers. I admire the officer's who are sworn to protect us.

Jay | February 29, 2008 11:17 PM link

"Great Restraint"? What kind of a statement is that??? I do understand that police put themselves in harms way,but beating a man after he is down a far cry from "Great Restraint"! Although Mr.Farias had his problems,he did not deserve this. I have read this, and someone should stand up for Mr.Farias and his family. This type of behavior should never be tollerated and from what I can see this is exactly what the ACLU thrives on....So get to work!!!

Kevin W.Bunker | March 1, 2008 12:50 AM link

I hope they never use "great restraint" on me. I dont want to end up in a box 6 feet down

goe | March 1, 2008 2:38 AM link

I feel for these people. We went through something similar with a loved one in the south a couple of yrs ago. The police said it was suicide by cop. Thank goodness we had the presence of mind to ask for the dispatch tape. We were lied to. My poor drunk, depressed loved one was on the phone with dispatch asking for help when an officer came in tazed him, that misfired, and my brother was shot 9 times, 5 times in the back. We are seeking a legal remedy for this, so I can't go any further. Sounds like CYA to me here. Get a good wrongful death lawyer, you're going to need it. There is training with police from mental health personnel. I think they have to collabarate better. Mental illness shouldn't be a death sentence.

kathy | March 1, 2008 6:41 PM link

February 29, 2008

Update: Police chief says officers used 'great restraint'

Comments

Post a comment