05/14/2026
🚨Providence Fraternal Order of Police 🚨
‼️Public Statement for the May 13, 2026 ‼️
Providence City Council MeetingCity of Providence
On behalf of the Providence FOP, Lodge #3, I’d like to address the proposed extreme expansion
of the powers and authority of the Providence External Review Authority (PERA) as set forth
by City Ordinance.
Let’s be clear from the outset: accountability in policing is already firmly in place within the
Providence Police Department. Any officer who violates their oath, the law, or department
policy is investigated and held accountable through the Department’s Office of Professional
Responsibility (OPR). OPR’s process is structured, professional, thorough, and built to ensure both accountability and due process. It has been proven that this process works when
warranted and necessary.
The special interest groups you are hearing from today championing the expansion of PERA’s
powers and authority are blatantly biased against police officers in general and have grossly overstated the “need” for police oversight outside of the Police Department’s OPR. What is being proposed here is not about strengthening accountability … it’s about expanding authority to an external entity in an unlawful manner and without clearly defined limits.
The proposals to:
(1) grant PERA direct and full user access to the Police Department’s OPR internal
investigation information, records (including BWC footage), and personally identifying
information;
(2) permit PERA to review and audit all OPR internal investigations and to dictate
disciplinary action changes; and
(3) authorize PERA to establish its own “early warning system” to collect data and information regarding Providence Police Officers …
are completely unlawful as these proposals would directly violate provisions of the Rhode
Island Access to Public Records Act and the Rhode Island Law Enforcement Officers’ Due
Process, Accountability, and Transparency Act (formerly called LEOBOR), as well as trample on
officers’ privacy, contractual, and due process rights. PERA is not the employer of Providence
Police Officers and it cannot lawfully possess and use the powers that these extreme proposals are seeking.
Granting near unrestricted access to sensitive and confidential information and materials
concerning Providence Police Officers without the tight parameters which are required by law,
creates the possibilities of unlawful or unauthorized public disclosure, misuse of information, overlap, confusion, and potential conflict with existing legal and procedural frameworks. That is not reform, that is unlawful redundancy with risk.
And it comes at a financial cost as well. Taxpayers should be asking a simple question: what measurable results justify expanding PERA’s powers and authority? The powers and authority sought by these proposals are already lawfully in the hands of the Providence Police
Department, so granting further redundancy of review to an external entity is not needed. This
becomes an exercise in spending without accountability. PERA’s budget has increased from $180,152 in 2020 to $719,281 in 2025, so taxpayers should be questioning where else those additional finances could be used within the City.
Police oversight must be impartial and grounded in standards not influenced by bias, conflicts
of interest, perception, or ideology. Public confidence depends on that. Without it, the system loses credibility on all sides. For example, there is already an actual member of the PERA Board who makes a living off of suing police officers for allegations (mostly unfounded) of perceived misconduct, and the Rhode Island Ethics Commission just recently ruled that she should be prohibited from serving on the PERA Board due to her bias and conflicts.
How does that demonstrate fairness and impartiality? There are also a real-world consequences to consider. Law enforcement agencies are already struggling to recruit and retain qualified people. When policies are perceived as excessive, duplicative, or unfairly weighted against officers, many officers leave and fewer step forward to replace them. That is not speculation, that is happening across the profession.
So this is the bottom line: If the goal is enhancing police accountability, then perhaps provide additional resources to OPR for the process that already works WITHIN the Providence Police Department, if that is even necessary. Don’t create overlapping systems that create risks of bias, violations of law, and misuse of confidential information, and which add cost, reduce clarity, and undermine confidence.
I urge the Providence City Council to reconsider this approach, reject these unnecessary and
excessive PERA proposals, and ensure that any necessary changes be aimed at enhancing the
resources and systems within the Police Department, rather than complicate it.
Thank you.
National Fraternal Order of Police Providence Police Department Providence City Council
