CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — The R.I. Department of Corrections (RIDOC) is mourning the loss of a longtime correctional officer at the ACI.
Officer Richard Carchia passed away Wednesday due to complications from COVID-19, according to RIDOC Director Patricia Coyne-Fague.
Coyne-Fague said Carchia began working in the medium security facility in 2000.
“This is a terrible loss for all of us,” Coyne-Fague said. “We will all keep Officer Carchia’s wife and family in our thoughts.”
Fellow officers described the 55-year-old as someone with a “quiet demeanor” who would give anyone the shirt off his back.
“He was very helpful, a very genuine person,” one officer said. “Whether he knew you or not, if you needed his help, he was there for you. He will be sorely missed.”
Carchia is the second correctional officer at the ACI to die from COVID-19 complications since the start of the pandemic. Last December, Lt. Russell Freeman passed away soon after contracting the virus.
Coyne-Fague encouraged all correctional officers who knew Carchia well to consider reaching out for emotional support if needed.
“These are difficult times. Please be safe and take care of each other,” she said.
Carchia leaves behind his wife Cindy and three children: Jillian, Raymond and Rayna.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized.
