New video, more details emerge after violent arrest on Thames Street in Newport
NEWPORT — More details have emerged in connection to a violent arrest caught on video early Sunday on Thames Street.
The incident initially gained attention from media outlets when a 24-second video was posted to numerous social media websites and was viewed hundreds of thousands of times.
Now, other videos of the incident are beginning to emerge, offering new angles and showing the actions of law enforcement beyond what the initial video contained.
In a video posted by Cranston-based attorney Christopher Millea, Newport Police Det. Patrick Walsh is shown striking 22-year-old Newport resident Christopher Adam in the head while Adam is already on the ground before getting him handcuffed.
Millea, when contacted Thursday by The Daily News, said the video was sent to him anonymously. Craig Hein, a Newport-based attorney, told The Daily News on Thursday morning he is representing Adam.
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What does the new video show?
The new video is 54 seconds long and picks up around where the original 24-second video leaves off. At the end of the original 24-second video, Adam can be seen approaching Det. Walsh from behind while the detective is providing crowd control.
Walsh turns and asks Adam, "What are you doing?" and, before Adam can answer, strikes him with an open hand and takes him to the ground to be arrested.
What do Newport Police say happened?
In the original 24-second video, two Newport patrol officers in uniform are shown arresting a man who is pushed against a city trolley. In a narrative sent to media outlets Wednesday, Newport police identify the officers as John Sullivan and Neil Sullivan. The suspect was identified as 22-year-old Dennis Engleson of Newport.
According to the police narrative, Officer John Sullivan was on patrol near the Santander Bank branch at 292 Thames St. around 1:20 a.m. for crowd control as the bars were closing. Police said in their narrative that Officer J. Sullivan observed a male, later identified as Engleson, "forcefully throwing a silicone bar mat towards persons walking down the sidewalk. Engelson was observed throwing it towards pedestrians twice prior to intervening."
Police said in their narrative that Officer J. Sullivan instructed Engelson to vacate the area "five separate times," but Engleson continued to "act belligerently, making it clear to the officer that he was not leaving the bar area." At that point, according to the narrative, Officer J. Sullivan made the decision to arrest Engleson and asked for his identification.
Officer Neil Sullivan responded to assist with the arrest, while a third officer, identified by police as Det. Walsh, provided crowd control. The original 24-second video shows Walsh aggressively grabbing a man and shouting, "Get the (expletive) back" while driving him down the sidewalk with two hands.
The man being shoved collided with another person, who then hit a lamppost and fell into the street. Neither of those men were identified by police.
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After Det. Walsh returned to the area of the arrest, a man, identified by police as Adam, can be seen walking toward the officers from the opposite direction, approaching Det. Walsh from behind.
According to the police narrative, Adam "interjected himself into the situation," Walsh was "startled" to see Adam approach the detective from behind and "use of force was used to secure the second male."
Newport Police's Use of Force policy
According to the “Use of Force” policy posted on the city of Newport website, officers are “authorized to use department-approved less lethal force options” to accomplish the following lawful objectives:
To protect themselves or another from physical harm.
To restrain or subdue a resistant individual.
To bring an unlawful situation safely and effectively under control.
To maintain control of a person or situation
RI Office of the Attorney General investigating the incident
Kate Sabatini, a spokesperson with the Office of the Attorney General, confirmed to The Daily News in an email Wednesday a joint investigation with the Rhode Island State Police — and cooperation from the Newport Police Department — is underway.
Engleson faces charges of disorderly conduct, obstruction of justice and resisting arrest. Adam is facing charges of obstruction of justice and resisting arrest. Both men are scheduled to appear in Newport District Court on July 6.
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Hein read a statement to The Daily News on behalf of his client.
"After reviewing the statement issued by the Newport Police Department, my client vehemently disagrees with the characterization of the events that night," he said. "We have no other comment at this time, and once again, the video speaks very clearly for itself."
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Violent arrest in Newport RI: New video shows use of force by police
