Video: Providence Firefighter Claims Cop Racially Profiled Him

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Providence police officer will face disciplinary action after a city firefighter claimed the officer racially profiled him and turned off his body camera during a search for attempted robbery suspects.

Officer Matthew Sandorse is facing disciplinary action for not turning on his body cam during the June 3 encounter with firefighter Terrell Paci, according to police Commissioner Steven Paré, who issued an apology to Paci.

The encounter happened on Cranston Street late at night, when police were called to a report of breaking and entering. The building in question appeared empty and there was no sign of damage, so the officers left, Paré said. A little while later, a man approached the officers and said two people attempted to rob him and his friend, one with a knife and the other with a handgun, Paré said.

The suspects were described as two Latino men wearing masks in a red sedan. The man then pointed to a parked vehicle that matched his description on Messer Street outside a fire station. Paci was sitting in the passenger seat, and a woman was in the driver's seat.

Sandorse and Officer Nathaniel Colicci went up to the vehicle. Body camera from Colicci shows the officer walking up to the passenger side with his gun drawn. This is protocol in a high-stakes situation such as an attempted armed robbery, Paré said. Just a few seconds into the encounter, Colicci reached up and shut off his body camera.

"I was like, 'I’m a firefighter, I’m PFD, I’m one of you' and they still kept approaching the vehicle with guns drawn," Paci, who is black, told WPRI.

Paci was on-duty and in his firefighting uniform at the time. He can be seen holding up his cap and radio just before the video ends:

After Colicci turned off his camera, Colicci left and continued to search for the suspect, Paré said. Sandorse, meanwhile, stayed at the car and asked to search the vehicle. The commissioner said that while this was legal, it showed poor discretion on the part of the officer, since the pair were clearly no longer suspects in the robbery.

Paré said he does not believe the encounter was racially motivated and instead an instance of "being in the wrong place at the wrong time" because the officers were directed to the car by the attempted robbery victim and had no idea who was inside.

However, he said, the situation was not handled as well as it could have been once it was clear that Paci was a firefighter and that he and the woman had no connection to the attempted robbery.

Paré said it was unacceptable that Sandorse never turned on his body cam, which is why he is being disciplined.

Going forward, Paré said he believes the Providence Police Department needs more cultural and sensitivity training.

"I can understand the firefighter's perception that he was selected and treated because of his race," Paré acknowledged.