PROVIDENCE – In a divisive year in which more hate crimes were committed – and racially accused incidents of excessive police violence sparked demonstrations across the country – the Rhode Island Attorney General is reassigning civil rights violations to priority.
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha has assembled a special team of four investigators to handle any civil rights complaints that reach his office.
Previously, such cases could be handled by dozens of Office prosecutors or, often at the local level, by a city or a city lawyer.
Now, Neronha said Thursday, cases of police misconduct or hate crimes are being dealt with by the office’s new “civil rights team”.
The team consists of three seasoned prosecutors and the office’s civil rights attorney who usually handles civil rights allegations that do not reach criminal levels such as housing or employment discrimination and voter intimidation.
Together, Neronha said, the team will develop a higher level of expertise on often complex civil rights laws as well as violations to ensure thorough and consistent investigations.
“We take this really seriously,” said Neronha. “We believe these cases are really important and we want to get them right. Getting it right may require a fee or it may be the right thing if you don’t top up. [But] The message is that this is a priority area for us. “
Neronha emphasized the perspective that office civil rights activist Keith Hoffman will bring to the team.
Unlike the three prosecutors who interact with police officers on a daily basis to discuss their cases, Hoffman’s work tends to be more into investigating civil complaints about housing and employee prejudice or property destruction based on a person’s race.
“Getting the perspective of someone who doesn’t work with police officers on a daily basis is, in my opinion, a model that can really help,” said Neronha. “It brings someone into these cases who can test us: are we seeing this correctly? Is that really what we think? “
The prosecutors on the team are Assistant Attorney General Daniel Guglielmo, Assistant Special Attorney Robert Johnson, and Assistant Attorney General Michael McCabe.
As part of Neronha’s plan, he has also recommended that each local law enforcement agency designate a “Hate Crime and Civil Rights Liaison” who can work with the team to provide information and training to peers, and to help law enforcement agencies more effectively protect vulnerable communities. ”
Hate crimes are generally defined as crimes motivated by the victim’s race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other civilly protected status.
Police misconduct cases often involve excessive violence, such as the death in May of George Floyd, a black Minnesotan who died after a white police officer held him on the street with one knee behind his neck for almost nine minutes.
Floyd’s death sparked outrage across the country and calls for racial justice and police reform.
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