Top Ranked Minority RI State Police Officer Claims Colonel Retaliated for Filing Complaint
Sunday, November 17, 2019
GoLocalProv.com has secured copies of documents submitted to the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights by recently retired State Police Captain Gerald McKinney alleging that State Police Superintendent Colonel James Manni had "taken measures of retaliation" against him.
Manni in a message to GoLocal said, “To my knowledge, no official charge of discrimination has been filed with the R.I. Commission for Human Rights, nor has the RISP received or been served with a charge of discrimination. That said, the RISP categorically denies any and all allegations set forth in the recent article...these allegations of discrimination and bias are completely baseless and wholly without any legal merit.”
“With full confidence, I look forward to addressing any complaint of discrimination that may be served on the RISP in the proper forum,” added Manni.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTPresently, the Rhode Island State Police have an eleven-member command staff of which only one is a minority — Major Darnell Weaver — and one woman Captain Laurie Ludovici.
McKinney Claims Threat
In the documents, McKinney outlined what he said was a pattern of discrimination and claims that his effort to raise issues of discrimination sparked Manni to target him.
In a letter to the Commission on Human Rights, McKinney wrote:
"On April 15, 2019, Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Joseph Philbin advised me that he had a conversation with Colonel Manni regarding my complaint [filed with the Commission]. According to LTC Philbin, Colonel Manni made a casual threat that he had the Donnelly-Taylor allegations "in the bank."
The reference to the allegation by Rhode Island State Trooper Jamie Donnelly-Taylor was a memo sent by [Donnelly-Taylor] to then-Colonel Ann Assumpico that asserted that McKinney struck a juvenile detainee and then a coverup was conducted.
Donnelly-Taylor has been at the center of another State Police controversy in which he was in a physical incident with a detainee Lionel Monsanto -- that incident has been at the foundation of multiple lawsuits and claims by Donnelly-Taylor of broken promises by then-Colonel Steven O'Donnell and a cover-up.
McKinney in his letter to the Commission for Human Rights outlines that the incident was investigated by Assumpico in 2017 and that he was cleared.
“Colonel Ann Assumpico…ordered an investigation into an allegation reported by Donnelly-Taylor. Prior to the onset of the account of my actions with the juvenile detainee….upon the conclusion of Major [Christopher] Dicomitis and Captain [Kenneth] Buoanitto’s investigation, I was advised that the matter was closed and no further action was warranted. In addition, I was advised that when the juvenile was spoken to, he did not wish to pursue the matter,” states McKinney’s letter.
McKinney claims that Manni’s effort to reinvestigate the incident and his calling in the Connecticut State Police was pure retaliation. McKinney retired from the State Police earlier this month.
“On July 9, 2019, at approximately 11:22 AM, I received a call from Rhode Island State Police Legal Counsel Adam Sholes. Attorney Sholes informed me that he was instructed by Colonel Manni to inform me that he had initiated an internal investigation regarding an assault that took place in 2015 involving a juvenile. He advised me that the investigation was being handled by the Connecticut State Police, and that I can expect a call from them sometime during the week of July 15th,” he said in his letter.
McKinney went on to claim, “I submit to you that these [actions] are being conducted for one reason and one reason alone ‘retaliation,’” he concluded.
“Diversifying our ranks remains among my top priorities. We are actively working to ensure that our department better reflects the community it serves as we on graduated the most diverse class of troopers in state history from the academy this year. We look forward to continuing to build upon that progress,” said Manni.
Editor's Note: at the time of the publication of this story Weaver was listed as a Captain and no women were listed on the RISP's command staff. After this article, the RISP's website was updated and the edits have been made to the article to reflect the changes.
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