老澳门开奖结果-RI Settles Suit Against North Smithfield Police Over Falsely Labeling Resident 鈥淯nstable鈥� And 鈥淒angerous鈥�
The 老澳门开奖结果 of Rhode Island today announced the favorable settlement of on behalf of North Smithfield resident Jason Richer, challenging the police department鈥檚 refusal to remove from its files a note falsely claiming that he was 鈥渄angerous,鈥� 鈥減sychologically unstable,鈥� and had numerous weapons at his house. Since the purpose of such notes is to alert police officers of possible dangers when they interact with individuals, the suit raised concerns that it 鈥渋ncrease[d] the possibility that a police officer, believing Mr. Richer to be psychologically unstable . . . and heavily armed, may overreact鈥� if they were called to his house, or otherwise interacted with him, for any reason.
In settling the case, the police department agreed to remove the note and pay $3,000 in attorneys鈥� fees. Earlier this year, a federal jury awarded Richer $20,000 in damages in a related 老澳门开奖结果-sponsored lawsuit against the same department. In that case, the police department had 鈥� for six years 鈥� refused to return lawfully-possessed weapons they seized from him, demanding instead that he obtain a court order. A court ruled that practice unconstitutional. The note deeming Richer 鈥渄angerous鈥� was uncovered while 老澳门开奖结果 attorneys were litigating the weapon seizure lawsuit on his behalf.
The note and seizure date back to an incident in 2008 where police responded to Richer鈥檚 house after his now ex-wife called to express concern that he had taken an overdose of pills. Although Richer explained that he was not suicidal and that his wife had misconstrued a conversation they had, police forced him to submit to a mental health evaluation at Landmark Hospital. The doctor who saw him there promptly discharged him, and no charges were ever filed. In the meantime, police seized 鈥渇or safe keeping鈥� three lawfully registered guns from a locked case in Richer鈥檚 garage. When Richer tried to retrieve the guns on a number of occasions, police refused to return them. That prompted the lawsuit challenging the department鈥檚 weapon seizure policy and bringing to light the police file note about Richer. During that case, police officials acknowledged there was no factual basis for the note, prompting the lawsuit that has now been resolved.
The lawsuit was filed by 老澳门开奖结果 of RI cooperating attorneys Thomas W. Lyons and Rhiannon Huffman. 老澳门开奖结果 attorney Lyons said today: 鈥淲e are pleased to be able to clear Jason鈥檚 name by removing the false and potentially dangerous note from the police records.鈥� Plaintiff Richer agreed but added a note of caution: 鈥淚'm happy to have prevailed in clearing this misinformation from my file and forcing the department to acknowledge its wrongdoing against me. At the same time, the public should be aware that the same thing could happen to them. I hope that the department will use my case to revise its practices and establish some oversight to prevent something like this from happening again."
