 |
|
2/18/2026
|
Rep. O’Brien urges CCRI and RIC to arm public college police officers after Pawtucket shooting
|
“Students need a sense of security in these chaotic and dangerous times”
STATE HOUSE – Rep. William W. O’Brien is once again urging the presidents of the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) and Rhode Island College (RIC) to arm their campus police officers after the tragic shooting in Pawtucket.
“The presidents of CCRI and RIC are playing a perilous game and time is running out for them to do the right thing before tragedy strikes our college campuses. We need to give our students and staff a sense of security in these chaotic and dangerous times, and both administrations are failing this horribly. There is no police chief or police union where these campuses are located that supports the decisions of the college presidents that refuse to properly protect everyone who steps foot on campus. We need true leadership at CCRI and RIC who take campus safety seriously and not bow down to unrealistic and foolhardy political pressure. Lives are at stake here and the clock is ticking,” said Representative O’Brien (D-Dist. 54, North Providence).
Representative O’Brien has reintroduced legislation (2026-H 7128) to arm public college police officers. When reintroducing the bill, he took into consideration a recent Rhode Island State Police assessment of an armed assailant response at CCRI earlier this year.
Representative O’Brien secured 37 members of the House of Representatives to cosponsor the bill.
“The unthinkable has come to Rhode Island now twice in two months and these horrific incidents at Brown and in Pawtucket should serve as a wake-up call to our public colleges who refuse to arm their campus police officers. The State Police report about the incident at CCRI makes it clear that to protect students, faculty and staff, police officers at CCRI and RIC must be properly equipped and armed to deal with potential life-threatening situations. The sad reality is that the campuses of CCRI and RIC are not prepared for these types of incidents and attacks due to their presidents’ refusal to arm their campus police,” said Representative O’Brien (D-Dist. 54, North Providence).
The report states that “the CCRI Police Department currently operates without issued firearms or Conducted Energy Weapons (Tasers), significantly limiting officers’ ability to respond directly to active threat situations. As a result, CCRI remains dependent on external law enforcement agencies for immediate threat neutralization.”
The report also recommends that CCRI evaluates the feasibility of equipping sworn CCRI police officers with firearms or Tasers, and that CCRI issue personal ballistic protection (vests) to all sworn officers to be worn while on duty.
For the past several legislative sessions, Representative O’Brien has introduced bills to equip public university and college police officers with firearms and to issue ballistic vests to campus police officers.
“This report from the State Police speaks for itself, and the recommendations it makes to ensure campus safety are the exact same things I have been advocating for up at the State House. We cannot afford to wait any longer to make the necessary changes to keep our state campuses safe. We live in scary and uncertain times, and we must equip our campus police officers with the proper tools they need to protect the public,” concluded Representative O’Brien.
Representative O’Brien notes that CCRI and Rhode Island College remain outliers in the region, with each school having the only campus police officers in New England without firearms or Tasers.
For more information, contact:
Andrew Caruolo, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-6124
|
|