State Police shoot at robbery suspect

A bank robbery suspect accused of trying to run over a State Police detective in Providence was arraigned in court Friday.

Darrin Gray, 43, faces felony charges that include assault with a dangerous weapon, felony possession of cocaine, resisting arrest, possession of a knife over three inches long, three counts of possession of a "bludgeon," eluding the police and operating on a suspended license.  The judge set surety bail on those charges, to which Gray entered no plea.

State Police said Gray tried to run over a detective Thursday night at a Shell Gas Station on the corner of River and Chalkstone Avenues in Providence after police tried to arrest him for a bank robbery in Cumberland.  Gray had been filling up his Jeep Cherokee with gas at around 8 p.m. when State Police found him there.

State Police said Gray was wanted by Cumberland Police for allegedly robbing a Sovereign Bank of about $6,000 on Broad Street sometime Wednesday.

Police said Gray tried to run over Sgt. Don Devine, who was on foot.  Devine then fired two rounds at the car Gray was driving. Neither shot hit the Jeep, or the suspect.

Police said they chased Gray until he crashed his car in Olneyville, where he was arrested. They said Gray was last known to live in Cumberland but considered him a transient.

Police said they found crack cocaine and weapons in Gray's car, including a metal club and a large knife.

Col. Brendan Doherty of the Rhode Island State Police defended Thursday night’s shooting of the suspect on Friday.

“He saw it, and another detective saw that there was an imminent threat that he was going to be hit,” Doherty said. "He had to fall backwards while he was firing his weapon. It is clearly within our policy to use deadly physical force in a situation like that."

State prosecutor Matthew Dawson agreed. Dawson said a separate preliminary investigation likewise indicates the shooting was justified because the state trooper feared for his life.

“A police officer – or anybody – who is confronted with deadly force has the right to defend themselves with deadly force,” Dawson said. “And so if it is someone who you think is going to bring imminent bodily harm or death, you have the right to defend yourself.”