Providence Mayor holds police chief candidate Q&A Forum
Mayor Smiley said that the public should get an announcement as to who the next police chief will be “in the coming days.”
February 9, 2023, 3:52 pm
By Steve Ahlquist
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley held a forum featuring the three finalists being considered to become the 38th Chief of the Providence Police Department on Wednesday evening at the Providence Career and Technical Academy. Around 300 people were in attendance.
See: DARE responds to lack of access and accountability in PVD police chief selection
“I am excited to introduce the community to three exceptional candidates who I believe exemplify we want in their next Chief of Police – a dedicated public servant that will work with the community to increase our overall public safety,” said Mayor Smiley in a statement. “We’ve got three excellent leaders, all of whom are well qualified. It’s a testament to the leadership that came before, the work of Colonel Clements and even before that, to build this department, to create a pipeline of talent and to have a real organizational commitment to community policing.”
Mayor Smiley added that the public should get an announcement as to who the next police chief will be “in the coming days.”
The three candidates (bios written by the Mayor’s Office):
Major Kevin Lanni has been a member of the Providence Police Department for 25 years. Lanni beginning as a Patrolman of the Community Policing Unit and rose through the ranks to now be the Commanding Officer of the Community Operations and Engagement Bureau. Lanni spent much of his career as Commanding Officer of Narcotics, Firearms and Organized Crime and has spearheaded two training academies for Providence Police, reimaging the PPD’s recruitment, training and retention strategies to incorporate bias awareness, cross-cultural policing and strategies for serving vulnerable residents. Lanni attended Providence Public Schools and currently resides in Providence.
Major David Lapatin has been a member of the Providence Police Department for 39 years, beginning as a Patrol Officer. Lapatin is currently Commanding Officer of the Investigative Division where he manages the Detective, License Enforcement, Intelligence, Youth Services, Criminal Investigations and Narcotic bureaus of the PPD. Lapatin has developed strong partnerships with local organizations and with community groups to solve ongoing crimes. Lapatin went to Providence Public Schools and graduated from Hope High School. He currently resides in Cranston.
Commander Oscar Perez has been a member of the Providence Police Department for 29 years, beginning as a Patrol Officer most recently serving as Deputy Chief of the Providence Police Department where he oversees daily operations and administration of all police services and functions of PPD. In his tenure, Perez developed the PPD’s Community Relations Bureau, implemented a department-wide community policing bureau policy and spearheaded several police community relations initiatives. Perez immigrated to Providence at the age of 13, went to Providence Public Schools through high school, and currently resides in North Providence.
The forum was facilitated by Nonviolence Institute Executive Director Cedric Huntley and Progreso Latino Executive Director Mario Bueno. Candidates were asked questions based on a survey that questioned community members on what qualities they would like to see in the next leader of the Providence Police Department.
You can watch the entire forum here:
Direct links to key parts of the forum:
Opening remarks from Mayor Smiley
Mayor Smiley goes over the survey results
Opening remarks from moderators Cedric Huntley and Mario Bueno
The candidates were first asked to introduce themselves.
The first six questions were prepared from the survey. The last two were consolidated from cards turned in by audience members.
Question 1: “In your view, what should be the top priorities for the next chief of police?”
Question 2: “People are turning on their TVs watching the evening news and hearing horrifying stories about police abusing their power, being unethical and covering up problems from within their department. Not only is that unacceptable, it is indicative of a larger cultural problem that is happening in police departments across the United States. There’s a direct correlation between this ongoing national issue and the fact that or respondents [to the survey] overwhelmingly identified transparency and accountability as top qualities they want to see in the next police chief. How do you, as the next chief of police plan to support a culture of professionalism, transparency and accountability among the members of the Providence Police Department?”
Question 3: “In order to increase public safety in Providence, we must strengthen relationships within the community. The good thing is that Providence has a strong foundation to do this. In recent years, the Providence Police Department has been recognized nationally for its successful Community Policing Model. Community relations was an incredibly strong theme for respondents to our survey. We received 319 questions around that particular subject. One participant asked, ‘What would you do to enable officers to be part of the community they serve, have close relationships with residents, and understand our concerns?'”
It was as Major Lapatin finished his answer that an audience member first spoke out.
“The students do not want cops in schools!’ said an audience member to cheers. “They are asking for counselors not cops!”
Question 4: “Defunding the Police. In light of police brutality and recent incidents like the murder of Tyre Nichols there are community members that identified wanting to defund the police. In particular, one submission read ‘How can we gradually devote more of our city’s resources to social services and away from policing?’ Another submission read, ‘In what ways will you dissolve the police department’s budget?’ Mayor Smiley has been outspoken about not defunding the Providence Police Department and rather emphasizes that strong relationships within the community is the path forward towards increasing our city’s sense of public safety. How will you work to build trusting relationships with those members of our community that believe that defunding the police is the only answer?”
Question 5: “Every instance of gun violence brings down the very fabric of our community. Getting illegal guns off the street is a top priority of Mayor Smiley and for 65% of our respondents. For 593 individuals addressing gun violence is the public safety issue that’s most important to them. One participant wants to know, ‘How will you specifically take steps to reduce gun violence and the proliferation of guns in our community?'”
Question 6: “Youth Support. [There is] immense value in supporting youth in the hours outside of school so they don’t get involved with the wrong people and make decisions that can impact the rest of their lives. This was a top theme for our community survey. ‘What ideas do you have to help engage the youth and how can we, as residents, support that.
Question 7: “Ethics. It is important to the community that you hold the members of the Providence Police Department to high ethical standards. Ethics, and holding officers accountable, was about 14% of all the questions submitted. ‘Give specifics on how you will recruit and train a police force that or entire community can rely on.’ And focus specifically on encouraging a culture of professionalism.”
Question 7: The Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights (LEOBoR) “Do you support the reform or repeal of LEOBoR?
Question 8: “How can the Providence Police Department better support youth in the Providence Public School Department and after school?” This question was as close as we got to the subject of School Resource Officers (SROs).
