Law and Order

Logos for the RI Democratic Party and Democratic Women's Caucus

The RI Democratic Party relies on a probably-unconstitutional law to silence Democratic women.

By Justin Katz | October 14, 2021 |

Controversial Rhode Island Democratic Party Senior Advisor Kate Coyne-McCoy sent a letter to the Rhode Island Democratic Women’s Caucus advising the group that it is using the word “democratic” in its name illegally, reports Steve Ahlquist on UpriseRI. In a surprisingly sloppy letter full of misspelled words, Coyne-McCoy refers generally to Rhode Island General Law Chapter…

Dan McKee cuts a ribbon

Politics This Week with John DePetro: The Flustering McKee

By Justin Katz | October 12, 2021 |

John and Justin discuss ways in which the controversies of the day illustrate a surprising (and disappointing) tendency of the McKee administration.

Policeman

A fundamental point must be made about low police recruitment in RI.

By Justin Katz | October 11, 2021 |

Laura Damon provides some of the reasons, in a Newport Daily News article, why police departments on Aquidneck Island may be having a hard time finding police officers: This year, calls for applications to join the Newport Police Department yielded a significantly lower turnout than years past. … “First of all, we have a lot of highly…

Arrest of Tyler Bonin

The State Police disparate treatment of anti-mandate protesters; out-of-uniform officer prompts conflict.

By Justin Katz | October 9, 2021 |

From the very beginning of John DePetro’s coverage of last night’s protest at Democrat Governor Dan McKee’s house, it was clear the treatment of healthcare professionals who are protesting the governor’s vaccination mandate was going to be very different from what we’ve witnessed for Black Lives Matter and other progressive groups. Remember when Black Lives…

A water drop and ripples

Democrats are bringing back the bad old days in Providence (for a start).

By Justin Katz | October 6, 2021 |

I started college in 1993, and I remember people older than me who had gone to urban campuses talking about the dangerousness of the cities — muggings, assaults, break-ins.  Those things can always happen as random events, but by the mid-’90s, it kind of seemed like they were largely a thing of the past.  Unfortunately,…

Silhouette of a stickup

The “mystery” of violent crime hides the probable cause in Rhode Island.

By Justin Katz | September 30, 2021 |

The mainstream media — represented for this post by Brian Amaral of the Boston Globe — may not know what is to blame for the increase in violent crime across the country, but they sure know who: In 2019, a Rhode Island man released from a life crack-dealing sentence under the First Step Act, a criminal justice reform…

Image of Police Line tape.

What genre should a writer choose for the tale of Police Chief Ronald Landry?

By Justin Katz | September 24, 2021 |

It’s difficult to know whether to read this Lauren Clem story in the Valley Breeze as a comedy or outrage-driven drama. Ronald Landry worked his way up to the rank of captain in the Woonsocket police department, retiring in 2007.  At that point, presumably, he took his pension along with a promotion of chief just across…

A water drop and ripples

Journalists should give readers and viewers the context of the people on whom they report.

By Justin Katz | September 9, 2021 |

Thus, John DePetro is keeping an eye on the folks at the heart of the scandal with the Sayles Street police response: One of the main players in the Providence Sayles street melee was arrested in Cranston for dealing drugs with children in the house. Alynezea Quaranta was one of the main contributors to the…

A water drop and ripples

Bill Felkner’s case against Rhode Island College hits an unfortunate marker.

By Justin Katz | September 3, 2021 |

Although the case does not appear to be concluded in a final way, Superior Court Judge Susan McGuirl has dismissed a lawsuit by Bill Felkner against Rhode Island College, which he filed in 2007 after finding the social work department to be biased against him for his conservative beliefs. Just the fact that this case…

A graveyard

Oh Oh Cuomo

By Monique Chartier | August 13, 2021 |

Did you hear Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation speech?  If not, you may wish to take an antiemetic before listening to it.  (Transcript here.) His voice quavered with “emotion” at several points during the speech.  “I have slipped …”; “In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line”; “Excelsior” (really; towards the end). Oh oh.  So dramatic.…