Cicilline: Arrests conclude probe of Providence police

By Philip Marcelo
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- As an additional city police officers was arrested and indicted in connection with a state police drug investigation, Mayor David N. Cicilline stressed on Wednesday that the arrests should not reflect badly on the rest of the department.

"These officers deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. They disgraced the honor of their positions," he said prior to a state police news conference announcing the arrests. "This is a department that has worked hard to earn the respect of the residents of this city. The behavior of these officers is the behavior of individuals, and it does not undermine the work of the great men and women of this police department."

He said the latest arrests do not come as a surprise to the city. The police department placed a number of officers on administrative leave immediately after the initial arrests when it was clear that they were under state police investigation, he said. Four of those officers have been cleared and will return to work.

He added that the state police have indicated that the latest arrests conclude the state probe of the department.

Attorney General Patrick Lynch and State Police Col. Brendan Doherty are holding a news conference at 3:30 p.m. to discuss the indictments and a sweep of arrests Wednesday morning as part of Operation Deception, a drug investigation that led to seven arrests in March, including three Providence police officers.