Newport police detective won't be charged in Thames Street incident captured in videos

The Office of the Attorney General announced Wednesday the Statewide Grand Jury has returned a “no true bill,” declining to charge Newport Police Detective Patrick Walsh in connection to a use-of-force incident on June 26 on Thames Street in Newport.

Pursuant to the Attorney General’s Use of Force Protocol, the Office of the Attorney General, Rhode Island State Police and the Newport Police Department investigated the incident.

The incident gained attention when two videos were posted on social media

The first video, which is 24 seconds long, shows a patrol officer in uniform, later identified by police as Walsh, aggressively pushing one man — forcing another to fall to the ground — then striking a second man in the face before wrestling him to the street.

Previously:New video, more details emerge after violent arrest on Thames Street in Newport

The second video, posted by Cranston-based attorney Christopher Millea, shows Walsh striking 22-year-old Newport resident Christopher Adam in the head while Adam is already on the ground before getting him handcuffed.

Craig Hein, a Newport-based attorney, is representing Adam, who was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice and resisting arrest. He is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 18. 

“No comment," Hein said when contacted Wednesday by The Daily News. "We are focused on our client’s case, his innocence and the pending charges against him. Not the Newport police officer involved. We do look forward to our day in court."

A second man, 22-year-old Dennis Engleson, was arrested in connection to the incident and faces charges of disorderly conduct, obstruction of justice and resisting arrest. Millea is representing Engleson.

In the days after the incident, police released their version of events

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 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 wrote that 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, 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 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. 

After 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 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."

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 story will be updated as more information is obtained.