Pawtuxet River Valley

The recent killing of a mentally ill naked man at Lupine seems to raise a whole bunch of questions which are being investigated as were the others. Do we need more training of officers in dealing with some difficult people? Do we need more support for some of the Pawtucket residents who are running amuk? Certainly troubling to lose a life, but hopefully we need to do a serious look at the total system & support any needed changes.

By Arthur

Police Shootups a Target

Site of police shooting on Lupine Street in Pawtucket

BY VINAYA SAKSENA

PAWTUCKET ?— A local man believed to have been emotionally disturbed was shot and killed in an altercation with three police officers Tuesday morning, the Pawtucket Police Department confirmed later in the day.

Police Chief George Kelley III said that 30-year-old Jason Swift died following a confrontation with officers at a Lupine Street residence, where he may have been living with his mother. The police department held a press conference Tuesday afternoon in conjunction with the office of Attorney General Patrick Lynch and the state police, who will be investigating the matter.
Kelley confirmed that the three officers allegedly involved in the incident have since been placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation. The chief said he could not release the names of the officers involved, but said that information may become available to the public within a couple of days.
According to Kelley, two officers responded to 71 Lupine St. following a report of an ?“emotionally disturbed individual with a knife?” outside that address, which was identified as an apartment building. When the officers arrived, they found a man reported as being about 6 feet tall and weighing at least 300 pounds ?— later identified as Swift ?— carrying a samurai sword with a blade that the department has since measured at 28 inches in length.
Details of the events that followed were unclear, as the investigation continues to unfold, according to Kelley. At some point, police said, it appeared that Swift would comply as officers attempted to take him into custody. However, he allegedly fled before he could be handcuffed, and ran into the apartment building. When police caught up with Swift on the building?’s third floor, he had allegedly taken off all of his clothes.
Kelley said officers were believed to have followed protocol for such an incident before Swift was shot. His death occurred after an officer allegedly fired two shots.
Police say the altercation came just hours after an incident of alleged domestic violence involving Swift. According to police, the victim of the incident came in to police headquarters the previous night, indicating that she had been involved in a domestic dispute with Swift, and that he had driven away in a vehicle belonging to her. Police say the woman had apparently had two children with Swift, but that they did not appear to be living together at the time of the incident. Swift was believed to have been staying with his mother on Lupine Street, though details of his living situation at the time are unclear, according to police.
The Pawtucket Police Department has been involved in two previous incidents in the past year in which suspects have been shot. Jason Audette was shot and killed in July 2007 in an altercation in which he allegedly pointed a gun at officers, though the officers involved were cleared of any wrongdoing by a grand jury. That incident closely followed a similar one in which Bridget DeGrafft, an Attleboro woman allegedly involved in a carjacking, was fatally shot. Police said Tuesday that those shootings, as well as Tuesday?’s incident, would not be investigated as part of a pattern, but be treated as isolated incidents.
?“Every incident is separate and apart (from) each other,?” Kelley said. ?“All of them consisted of different people. It?’s nothing we?’re proud of or happy to do, but it?’s something we have to do.?”
Maj. John J. Whiting said that protocol followed by the department dictated that the police department whose officers had been involved in an incident such as Tuesday?’s shooting report it to the attorney general?’s office and the State Police to be investigated by those agencies. He added that if one of the other agencies had been involved in such an incident in a particular police department?’s jurisdiction, that department would likewise participate in the investigation.


By Big Al

Bummer

Those who can't help themselves get shot by our cops.

By John John

Police are just tired, worn out

To Big Al and John John,

I think the Pawtucket Police are simply tired and worn out, especially those who have turned hard and cynical from being on the streets for five to 10 years. Arthur is correct; some therapy work has to be done to prevent police officers from getting mentally worn out.

By Tony Sheriff