NEWPORT, R.I. — Newly released body camera video captures officers boarding a stolen sailboat before a gunshot from inside the cabin prompted officers to open fire, according to the Newport Police Department.
The Aug. 26 incident unfolded when a harbormaster spotted an approximately 40-foot sailboat anchored in Newport Harbor and noticed it matched the description of the Pathfinder, a vessel reported stolen out of New Jersey. Its name had been scraped from the stern, Chief Ryan Duffy said.
| WEBINAR: Rethinking public order policing: Crowd science, dialogue policing and the law
After spotting someone aboard, the harbormaster called officers to investigate.
The boat’s engine was running, and the man appeared to be raising the anchor as officers approached, according to police. The suspect then moved toward the cabin despite repeated commands to stay on deck and show his hands.
“Stay on the deck!” an officer shouts in the recording. “Put your hands up now!”
Officers pulled alongside the sailboat and boarded. An officer at the bow saw the man rummaging inside the cabin and spotted a metallic object he believed resembled a gun barrel, Duffy said.
A gunshot from inside the cabin sent debris into an officer’s face, and the officer felt an impact to his right leg, Duffy said. Officers then returned fire.
“Shots fired! Shots fired!” an officer calls out.
“Reload! Reload!” another officer shouts after the gunfire.
Officers continue ordering the man to show his hands before one calls out, “I got a suspect down.”
“Who’s been hit?” an officer asks.
“I’m in the leg. Relax,” the injured officer responds. “Everybody chill.”
After the gunfire stopped, officers repositioned, reloaded and continued ordering the man to show his hands.
Officers entered the cabin and found the suspect unresponsive with a severe head injury and a firearm beside him, Duffy said.
The harbormaster towed the vessel to Elm Street Pier, where fire personnel determined the man was dead. The injured officer was taken to Newport Hospital.
Newport police and Rhode Island State Police are investigating under the attorney general’s officer-involved shooting protocol. The investigation remains ongoing.
