Steve Klamkin WPRO News
Saying concern about an off-duty police officer’s shooting of a teenage driver last week is “off the charts”, Gov. Dan McKee Monday stopped short of calling for state police to assume control of the Pawtucket Police department.
Appearing Monday in Smithfield at the ribbon-cutting for a $11 million affordable housing development, McKee expressed concern about the June 23 shooting of a driver in West Greenwich, attributed by the Attorney General’s office to off-duty Pawtucket Police officer Daniel Dolan.
“Any inappropriate behavior, and really, you know, this one is like, way off the charts obviously in terms of concern, police officers whether they’re on duty or off duty need to be held accountable for their actions,” McKee said.
“I believe that there is a investigation in progress and I would expect that there’ll be certain actions that’ll be taken.”
“There’s reason to be concerned, obviously,” McKee said. “And what motivated ah, you know, an off-duty police officer to take that action, that’s under investigation and we’ll wait on the results from that investigation.”
In response to a reporter’s question, McKee stopped short of calling for Rhode Island State Police to assume control of the Pawtucket Police, whose officers were reportedly responsible for half of the 14 fatal shootings involving police in Rhode Island over the past 15 years.
“We’ll be available to any community that wants our help, and we’ll reach out to every community and in particular Pawtucket if in fact they need, and would like some intervention,” McKee said.
The Attorney General’s office issued a statement on Monday saying it’s investigation into the shooting “is making substantial progress”, adding, “it is critical that before making any conclusions public, the investigation is effectively complete.”
“This Office is in communication with the attorney representing the three additional individuals involved in the incident. The Investigative Team has been in contact with his clients in connection with the investigation,” said the AG’s statement.
