PHOTOS: Public Not Allowed to Speak at Police Chief Candidates' Forum
GoLocalProv News Team, Photos by Richard McCaffrey
PHOTOS: Public Not Allowed to Speak at Police Chief Candidates' Forum
The event was held at the Providence Career and Technical Academy. A little more than 100 attended the event — the row of “reserved” seats was mostly empty.
In attendance were City Councilman Juan Pichardo and Smiley’s husband Jim DeRentis, to name a few.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe three finalists are Providence Police Majors Kevin Lanni and David Lapatin, and Commander Oscar Perez.
Last Thursday night Smiley and Lanni had a private dinner. Smiley did not have dinner or private meetings with either of the other two candidates.
The dinner came just days before Smiley’s public forum — an event billed for public input into the selection process for the next Providence Police Chief.
The mayor’s office defended the one-on-one event claiming, ”Colonel Clements and the Mayor conducted interviews with all the local applicants, and the Mayor did personal follow-up as needed.”
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The Public Was Not Allowed to Directly Ask Questions
During the course of the event, the public was allowed to submit questions read by moderators, but were not allowed to directly ask questions or to ask follow-up questions.
Members of the public could interact with the candidates -- after the event.
Questions were asked by Cedric Huntley and Mario Bueno. Huntley is the executive director of the Non-Violence Institute and Bueno heads Progresso Latino.
One of the most debated issues is the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBOR), a state statute that gives police officers significant protection when accused of a crime.
At the State House, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio has repeatedly killed efforts to repeal the legislation.
None of the three candidates for chief called for the repeal of the law.
