L.E.O.B.O.R., L.E.O.B.O.R., L.E.O.B.O.R. - Raymond Two Hawks Watson

L.E.O.B.O.R., L.E.O.B.O.R., L.E.O.B.O.R. - Raymond Two Hawks Watson

L.E.O.B.O.R., L.E.O.B.O.R., L.E.O.B.O.R. . . . I hope Rhode Islanders are as tired of reading about it as I am of writing about it. Unfortunately, because the General Assembly has not moved on any amendment or repeal of the Act, the L.E.O.B.O.R. problem persists.

Generally, a law enforcement officer's bill of rights (“LEOBOR”) prohibits the investigation and prosecution of law enforcement personnel for their conduct during the official performance of their duties. LEOBORs also provide law enforcement personnel with due process-related privileges that are not afforded to other US citizens. After the Garrity v. New Jersey and Gardner v. Broderick decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court in the late 1960s, the first LEOBOR was set forth by Maryland in 1974.

According to an article published by The Center for Public Integrity, standard provisions of LEOBORs include “a mandatory cooling-off period of up to 10 days before police officers have to cooperate with investigations, a requirement that only fellow police officers, not civilians, could question them, and an automatic scrubbing of records of complaints against them after a certain period.”  Including Rhode Island, 20 states have adopted some version of a LEOBOR. Rhode Island’s version is codified as State law at R.I. Gen. Laws § 42.28.6.

In the wake of the George Floyd protests of 2020, LEOBORs have come under national scrutiny. In detailing primary concerns with LEOBORs, everytownresearch.org states that the policy “frustrates prompt investigation and resolution of police misconduct allegations, often delaying officer interrogation or raising the standard for complaints. The policy often includes provisions that prevent police departments from disciplining or firing problematic officers and prohibit the disclosure of personnel records.” These concerns mirror the concerns expressed by The Center for Public Integrity and both articles highlight the fact that Maryland, the first state to enact a LEOBOR, fully repealed its LEOBOR in 2021.

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This brings us to the recent arrest of Providence Police Officer Jean Lugo. Lugo was arrested for simple assault or battery and disorderly conduct related to a Friday, June 24, 2022, incident that occurred at the RI State House during a protest over the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v Wade. Lugo Is accused of twice punching Jennifer Rourke, the Rhode Island Political Cooperative Chairwoman, and a rival State Senate candidate. Not only was the incident caught on video, but Lugo was brazen enough to state to the media that he was not going to deny the allegations. Despite being off duty at the time, Lugo’s retort is that his conduct was intended to protect someone from being attacked by agitators which is in line with his sworn oath to protect and serve our communities. Essentially, Lugo is asserting that despite being off duty at the time, Lugo was in fact acting in his official capacity as a Providence Police Officer. This argument, if sustained, would avail Lugo of the extra protections afforded to law enforcement officers under Rhode Island’s LEOBOR . . .  and that’s exactly what happened.

Under LEOBOR, Lugo is currently suspended with pay as the investigation proceeds. The Providence Police administration has advised that Lugo be terminated from his employment with the Providence Police Department because of his conduct, but the key word is “advised.” LEOBOR prohibits the Chief of Police, the Public Safety Commissioner, or even the Mayor from outright firing Lugo. Instead, Lugo can show up to a political protest, assault a woman and political rival in public and on video, decline to deny the allegations, and then claim that he did it all to fulfill his oath to protect and serve the community so that he can avail himself of the extra protections afforded to law enforcement officers under Rhode Island’s LEOBOR.

SMH. It’s a national embarrassment to the Providence Police Department and the City of Providence. Lugo should have been arrested and fired immediately, not given what amounts to a paid vacation while fellow law enforcement officers mull over whether Lugo was actually acting in fulfillment of his oath to protect the community when he publicly punched a woman and political rival in the head twice while privately attending an abortion protest.

More importantly, it isn’t right. Rhode Islanders shouldn’t have a law in place that protects law enforcement officers when they blatantly engage in criminal conduct against civilians. The very notion undermines the integrity and reputation of the law enforcement profession generally and Lugo’s conduct and manipulation of the system should be an egregious affront to anyone who considers themselves law enforcement professionals.

But that’s in another place, in another time, and with another General Assembly that takes professionalism in law enforcement seriously. We’re here in Rhode Island, and you already know how it goes.

LEOBOR reigns supreme; Lugo gets a paid vacation for both publicly assaulting a woman and political rival and for nationally embarrassing the police department and the city; and you—the Rhode Island taxpayer—get to foot the bill for all of it.

 

#TheRhodeIslandWay

That’s my three cents.

Raymond Two Hawks Watson, J.D., M.C.P.