A Rhode Island prosecutor allegedly ordered Newport police officers to shut off their body cameras as she was placed in the back of a cruiser on trespassing charges — warning them they would “regret it,” according to reports and authorities.
Police said they encountered Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Hogan Flanagan and her friend, Veronica Hannan, outside the Clarke Cooke House restaurant on Thursday evening while responding to a call about an “unwanted party,” NBC10 reported.
Bodycam footage released by the department shows Flanagan, a Democrat, making threats and attempting to intimidate officers by invoking her position during the confrontation, the New York Post reported.
As police arrived, the prosecutor told officers, “I want you to turn your bodycam off. Protocol is that you turn it off. It’s a citizen request that you turn it off,” she demanded, according to the footage.
“They want you to leave. Let’s just leave,” an officer can be heard telling the two women. In the footage, an officer is also heard asking a man at the restaurant’s host stand whether he wanted the women removed from the property.
“Anything we can do. Trespass, yes, cuff them, please,” the man replied.
“We’re not trespassing. You haven’t notified us that we’re trespassing,” Flanagan then insisted, per the footage.
“Let’s go. I don’t want to arrest you guys,” an officer replied.
After a continued struggle after getting the women to leave the restaurant and repeated requests for cops to turn off their body cameras, Hannan tells cops that Flanagan is “a (expletive) lawyer. So she knows.”
“Well, that’s bull (expletive) lawyer stuff. So that’s not true,” the officer quickly responded.
“I’m an AG. I’m an AG,” Flanagan replied, to which the officer yelled, “Good for you. I don’t give a (expletive). Let’s go.”
“Buddy, you’re gonna regret this. You’re gonna regret it,” Flanagan is heard saying in the body camera video. “I’m an A.G.”
“You’re going to regret it. I’m an A—,” Flanagan said as an officer slammed the door to the police cruiser, cutting her off.
Timothy Rondeau, spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office, told the Boston Globe on Monday that Flanagan’s request for officers to turn off their cameras was inconsistent with statewide policy, which permits such accommodations only for crime victims and witnesses.
According to Newport Police Department policy, if a member of the public objects to being recorded on a body camera, an officer “may determine whether to proceed with recording.” The policy also makes clear that consent is not required for officers to record, the outlet reported.
Flanagan “was immediately uncooperative, questioning our authority and demanding I turn my body camera off,” an officer wrote in a police report obtained by the outlet.
The news outlet also reported that the state attorney general’s office immediately launched an inquiry into the incident.
“Ms. Flanagan has been employed with the Office for approximately 7 years and is currently assigned to Appellate Unit of the Criminal Division,” the Attorney General’s Office said in a statement obtained by the Providence Journal. “The Office immediately began a review of the incident, which we anticipate will conclude within the next few days.”
Later in the evening, Flanagan made a court appearance.
Around 10:00 p.m. Monday evening, officers responded to 24 Bannister’s Wharf on reports of an “unwanted party.”
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha went on talk radio Tuesday morning to address the incident, the Journal reported.
He said that Flanagan has not been placed on leave, but that a “strong sanction” would be coming, including a “suspension without pay” if he decides to retain her in the office.