Opening arguments start Wednesday in trial of Daniel Dolan, Pawtucket cop who shot teen
WARWICK – Lawyers in the trial of off-duty Pawtucket Police Officer Daniel Dolan, charged with shooting a then 18-year-old teenager without cause in 2021, spent Tuesday choosing a jury in the case.
Opening arguments are now scheduled for Wednesday morning in Superior Court, Warwick, before Judge Luis M. Matos.
The Attorney General’s office charged Dolan, 40, with four felonies, including three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, after he wounded Dominic Vincent on the evening of June 23 in the parking lot of the Wicked Good Pizza, at 12 Nooseneck Hill Rd., West Greenwich.
What happened during the shooting?
Dolan, driving home at the time, told investigators he chose to follow a speeding Black Audi as it turned off Interstate 95 because it was moving erratically in traffic and he thought it might be fleeing from a crime.
More on the shooting:Lawyer for cop charged in shooting: He was trying to 'preserve life'
Vincent and his two friends in the car, brothers Vincent Greco Jr., 18, and Joseph Greco, 17, told investigators they had gone to pick up a pizza they had ordered minutes earlier. They were on the way to Vincent's house, where they planned to watch a basketball game and have a sleepover.
In the pizzeria parking lot, court records say, Dolan attempted to block in the Audi. Video captured Dolan jumping out of his truck and confronting the Audi driver while waving what looked like his badge in his hand.
More on the shooting:Attorney: Teens were victims of 'deadly and unwarranted attack' by Pawtucket police officer
But Vincent and his two friends told investigators they didn’t recognize Dolan, dressed in street clothes, as a police officer and saw the man who was screaming at them as a threat.
Vincent said he put the car in reverse and attempted to get away. The next thing Vincent said he saw was Dolan holding a gun and heard him shout: “You’re gonna get shot.”
Dolan, who remains suspended without pay, told investigators he shot because he was afraid the car would strike him. The single .40 caliber round hit Vincent in the upper arm.
Contact Tom Mooney at: tmooney@providencejournal.com
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Trial arguments of Daniel Dolan, Pawtucket cop who shot teen, starts
