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June 2, 2020

Prepared for Civil Unrest Following Violent Social Media Posts

Woonsocket, RI; The Country and State is reeling from the officer involved death of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis. The Woonsocket Public Safety Department, including the men and women of the Woonsocket Police Department condemn the officer’s actions and the others who did nothing to prevent Mr. Floyd’s death. The Woonsocket Police Department believes in the fair and impartial treatment of all its citizen’s and visitors alike. Woonsocket Police officers do not use or authorize procedures or tactics to induce unconsciousness as a compliance technique within the response to resistance continuum.
Notwithstanding, the public safety department is aware of vast social media posts threatening violence, vandalism, and harm to police and local businesses and property. Although the police support peaceful protest, The Woonsocket Police Department is actively preparing for and will take appropriate action if violent and destructive behavior erupts. The Woonsocket Police will not tolerate violent, destructive, and lawless behavior threatening our public safety officials, residents and businesses.


Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, Public Safety Director Eugene Jalette and Police Chief Thomas F. Oates III refrained from implementing a city-wide curfew, we are recommending residents stay in their homes tonight for their safety and allow public safety to manage potential lawless groups. Please contact Public Safety Director Eugene Jalette for comment or concerns.

The Supreme Court is considering whether Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for acts he took in office. The case before them Thursday centered around Trump's federal election interference charges. Trump's attorney argued prosecuting a president for official acts is "incompatible" with Constitution. The special counsel attorney argued the Constitution does not grant a president absolute immunity.        Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is having his conviction for sex crimes in New York overturned. The New York Court of Appeals ruled Thursday Weinstein did not receive a fair trial. The court found the judge in his trial made an error allowing women to testify about alleged sexual assaults committed by Weinstein that were not part of the charges against him.       Students at Columbia University are filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school. They filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights on Thursday, demanding an investigation into the school's actions against pro-Palestinian students. The lawsuit alleges Columbia has mistreated students utilizing their first amendment rights.        The Federal Communications Commission is voting to restore net neutrality rules. The rules block broadband providers from stopping internet traffic to some websites and speeding up access to sites that pay extra fees. Net neutrality rules were passed in 2015 and rolled back under former President Trump in 2017.       The company that owns Google is announcing its first-ever dividend. Alphabet on Thursday announced a dividend of 20 cents per share and a stock buyback of 70-billion dollars.        A new study says there's a shortage of veterinarians in the U.S. and the problem could get worse. Researchers at Mars Veterinary Health have found 47 states are currently facing some sort of veterinarian shortage, and one factor may be the high cost of veterinarian school