Mayor wants random drug tests for cops

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Providence Mayor David Cicilline outlined the next steps the police department will take in response to the arrest of three of its officers.

Cicilline, Col. Dean M. Esserman and the department's command staff outlined the action steps during a news conference at City Hall Monday afternoon.

• Click for in-depth coverage of Operation Deception

The Action Steps

Among the action steps, Mayor Cicilline said  he wants police officers to undergo random drug tests effective immediately. He also urged Col. Esserman to take the following actions:

• Conduct a review of the Department’s protocol for loaning officers to other agencies. (One of the officers involved in the drug investigation has been on loan to and under the supervision of the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency for several years.) The nature of supervision and circumstances surrounding the loaning of officers will be fully reviewed.
• Review the Department assignment rotation policy and other policies and procedures within the narcotics division to ensure that the policy reflects the appropriate course for the department and is consistent with best practices in law enforcement.

“Last Thursday, every resident of this city was outraged and deeply disappointed to hear of the arrest of three Providence police officers on drug-related charges,” said Mayor Cicilline. “We have come too far in the last eight years to allow the behavior of three bad officers to impugn and undermine the outstanding work of the Providence Police Department. I will not allow this to happen. The residents of our community will not allow this to happen.”

The Arrests

The three officers - Sgt. Steven Gonsalves, Patrolman Robert Hamlin, Jr. and Detective Joseph Colanduano - were among six people arrested as part of a major drug sting in Rhode Island dubbed "Operation Deception." The officers are accused of allowing a major cocaine ring to operate in Providence, and even setting up drug deals.

• See the details of those arrested

Four other officers were also placed on administrative duty.

Cicilline has already publicly called the officers' behavior egregious.

"The behavior of these three individuals has broken the trust of the public," Cicilline said during a St. Patrick's Day parade in Pawtucket over the weekend. "They should be punished to the full extent of the law if they're convicted of these crimes."