RI Supreme Court: Airport police deputy chief was owed hearing before dismissal

Paul Edward Parker, The Providence Journal
·2 min read

PROVIDENCE — The deputy chief of the Rhode Island Airport Police Department, fired without a hearing in November 2020, won a key victory Tuesday when the state Supreme Court ruled she is covered by the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights.

The high court ruled that the state Airport Corporation, the agency that runs Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport, violated the law by not giving Deputy Chief Helen Ricci a hearing under the bill of rights law.

The court ordered that Ricci receive back pay, but it did not order her reinstated. Instead, the justices ordered further proceedings in Superior Court, where Ricci sued the Airport Corporation and several related people and agencies after she was denied a hearing.

Is a hearing still possible?

Airport spokesman John Goodman said Tuesday afternoon, "While we disagree with the outcome, we respect the process and will proceed with a Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights hearing at the appropriate time."

But, Ricci's lawyer, Joseph F. Penza Jr., said the first question the Superior Court will have to address is whether a hearing is still possible. He has contended in court papers that because the Airport Corporation never nominated a member of a hearing committee, the charges against Ricci were effectively dismissed, meaning she was never fired.

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The Airport Corporation had argued that Ricci was not covered by the bill of rights law because, at the time she was fired, the chief's position was vacant and Ricci was the highest ranking officer and, therefore, exempt.

The Supreme Court disagreed, noting that Ricci had never been given the title of chief and that the airport director and deputy director were also considered high-ranking officers in the Police Department.

Penza said Ricci has been working two full-time jobs since being fired: teaching criminology at the University of Rhode Island and managing internal-fraud investigations for Amazon.

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI deputy chief of airport police owed hearing before termination