EDITORIAL: Barmore Incident - What We Learned
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL: Barmore Incident - What We Learned
We take a look at the incident and some of what we learned.
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INCIDENT
The traffic stop took place a little before 1:00 AM on Wednesday on Broad Street in Providence.
Barmore had every right to be driving down any street at any time. His problem was that the SUV he was driving was not properly registered and it had illegal window tint.
As the vehicle was improperly registered, it was more than fair for the Providence Police to pull him over. It was hard to claim that he was racially profiled due to the illegal tint.
It is the job of police to pull the vehicle over.
CLAIM OF RACISM
Just after the traffic stop, Barmore claimed his interaction with police was racist.
“I just experienced for the first time 5 Providence cops being very unprofessional racism at its finest,” wrote Barmore in a post on X.
On Wednesday morning, GoLocal submitted a public records request under the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) for the police body camera footage of the incident.
After the request, and before the release of the body cam footage to GoLocal, Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez issued a statement on the Providence Police Department’s actions.
Perez said, “The Providence Police Department takes all concerns from the public very seriously and with the utmost professionalism. In this particular case, the vehicle in question was found to be unregistered during a routine traffic stop, which is a violation of the law. The officer acted in full compliance with department protocols and state regulations."
"We understand that any encounter with law enforcement can be stressful, however, it’s important to note that officers are required to enforce all applicable laws, including those related to vehicle registration. We will continue to review the situation to ensure that proper procedures were followed and to maintain transparency with the public," said Perez.
BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE
Later Wednesday morning, GoLocal reviewed more than one hour of body cam footage sent in response to the APRA, and published the approximately three minutes of the exchange between police officers and Barmore.
One of the great improvements in policing in recent years is the deployment of body cameras.
GoLocal was first to publish the body camera footage on Wednesday at about 1:00 PM — almost exactly 12 hours after the incident.
The video can be seen above, but it is clear that the officers acted professionally during the traffic stop.
Barmore called his mother and she participated in the discussion. Also, it was requested that a supervisor be called to the stop and it appears that police did so.
After repeated requests, Barmore exited his vehicle and repeatedly verbally insulted the group of five officers — both men and women and comprised of multiple races.
Barmore can be seen asking police if they would like to enter a fight, calling officers the “N-word” and threatening to sue them.
REACTION
Sometime late on Wednesday, following the release of the body camera footage, Barmore deleted his post accusing the police of racism.
GoLocal contacted New England Patriots spokesperson Stacey James, forwarding him the video and specifically asking him if Barmore would be issuing an apology to Providence Police.
James did not respond to requests for comment.
On Wednesday night, Michael Imondi, president of the Providence Fraternal Order of Police, posted to social media, “Last night, unfortunately, a member of the New England Patriots decided to publicly, on social media, falsely accuse officers of the Providence Police Department of unprofessionalism and racism. Such accusations are not taken lightly. The FOP Executive Board has viewed the BWC footage available and read the statement released by the Providence Police Department, which clearly demonstrate that the police officers involved acted professionally, in accordance with policies and procedures, and with no semblance of racial bias at all.”
GoLocal asked Smiley’s office on Thursday morning, "Does Mayor Smiley believe that New England Patriot Christian Barmore - who claimed Providence Police were racist - owe the officers an apology?"
But Smiley did not respond.
A staffer issued his own non-responsive statement.
Three days later on Saturday, Barmore issued an apology.
He wrote:
"A few days have gone by since the incident with the Providence police and I have had a chance to deeply reflect on my behavior. I want everyone to know that I’m sorry and I take full accountability for my actions. I apologize to the Providence Police Department, my teammates, and my family.
My mother was a police officer and I understand the pressures related to their job. Which I didn’t make any easier by reacting in the manner that I did. I am using this as an opportunity to learn and do better. I have already met with members of the Providence Police Department to apologize in person.
It is my hope that they accept my sincere apology. That meeting is just the first step of many that I am taking on the route to self-improvement."
WHAT WE LEARNED
It is impossible to know if the Providence Police treated Barmore the same or differently than other person.
The body camera footage shows police treated him respectfully and repeatedly had to request Barmore to exit the vehicle.
Further, the video shows Barmore being abusive and using language that is simply not acceptable.
Providence Police nearly immediately released the body camera footage. We hope that is a policy they will use whether the officers acted appropriately or not. Cranston Police has a history of releasing video quickly when it benefits them but delaying the release of video when there is a controversy.
It was most disappointing that Mayor Brett Smiley, who has four officers assigned to protect him, refused to defend five officers who were working overnight to try and keep Providence safe.
Smiley opted not to defend the actions of the five officers. He declined to ask Barmore to apologize for filing what appears to be a false claim of racism.
Providence Police acted professionally.
Barmore did not but appropriately apologized.
Smiley failed to lead.