Police Investigating Accusation Retired Officer Urinated in Public

NEWPORT, RI—A retired police officer has been suspended from work on details, while police look into an accusation that he urinated on a resident's property. According to Sgt. Jason Kleinknecht, the police chief received an e-mail from a social media website on Friday around 7 a.m. with a message about the alleged incident and a photograph.

The photograph was taken during the daytime hours and had a "portion of the officer’s midsection/groin area blurred out," police said. The e-mail message "stated a Newport resident took the photograph earlier this week from inside" a residence while the officer was allegedly urinating on the resident's property.

Police on Friday requested an unaltered photograph of the officer and any additional photographs that exist. Those have been provided. The chief has started an internal investigation.

The accused officer is a member of the Newport Police Department Retired Officer Corps, Sgt. Kleinknecht said. "These members assist the agency in performing special details, such as road construction details, which he was performing at the time the photograph was taken."