"More Training Needed" Officer Didn't Turn on Body Cam - Pare Says Police-Fire Incident "Not Racist"
GoLocalProv News Team and News Editor Kate Nagle
"More Training Needed" Officer Didn't Turn on Body Cam - Pare Says Police-Fire Incident "Not Racist"
In a press event held on Zoom on Tuesday broadcast on GoLocal LIVE, Pare addressed the sequence of events that led to Terrell Paci, a Providence firefighter, alleging that he was racially profiled by Providence Police and that officers held their guns on him despite him being in uniform and in a car in front of a fire station on Messer Street.
Pare said that police were investigating reports of a robbery that had been reported in the area on June 3, and that the car Paci was sitting in, with a female companion in front of the Messer Street fire station, fit the description.
"Two police officers responded -- [Matthew] Sandorse was one and [Nathaniel] Colicci was on the passenger side," said Pare.
"[Collici] ordered [Paci] a forceful command to remain in the car," said Pare. "[Paci] identifies himself as a Providence police officer out of nerves. He then tells the officer he’s a firefighter. Within seconds, Colicci shuts down his body camera. Sandorse never engaged his body cam."
Incident -- And Aftermath
"Sandorse will be held accountable and disciplined for not engaging his body camera," said Pare. "It was an unfortunate interaction -- a firefighter sitting in a car that fit the description of robbery suspects."
Pare said that following Paci identifying himself as a firefighter, that Colacci moved on to search for the robbery suspects, and that he believes is was Sandorse's subsequent search of the vehicle that angered Paci.
"I believe that subsequent to that encounter there could have been better judgment used when it concluded particularly with the search," said Pare. "The officer had a legal right to search — better discretion could have been used. This caused the incident that caused the black firefighter to feel he was treated differently because of his race."
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza was not present at the press conference.