For a reminder of how problem-plagued the Providence Police Department used to be, let's recall that the situation was serious enough that the US Department of Justice launched a patterns and practice investigation involving the PPD.
While Police Chief Dean Esserman has his critics, particularly at WPRO, I credit the chief for bringing some much-needed improvements to the department, including an overdue and robust commitment to community policing.
And this announcement came in a short time ago:
PROVIDENCE- Mayor David N. Cicilline and Police Colonel Dean M. Esserman will announce the findings of a United States Justice Department’s investigation into patterns and practices at the Providence Police Department at a news conference on Thursday, April 3 at 10:30 a.m. in the auditorium at the Public Safety Complex, 325 Washington Street.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division began an investigation into the PPD in 2002 based on allegations of excessive force and discriminatory police practices. City Council President Peter Mancini, NAACP President Cliff Monteiro, Urban League of RI President Dennis Langley, U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente, Attorney General Patrick Lynch, State Police Colonel Brendan Doherty, Fraternal Order of Police President Kenneth Cohen, and FBI agents Jeffrey Sallet and Joan Buckley are among those attending the news conference.