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LEOBOR reform is long overdue. Why the General Assembly needs to act | Opinion

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LEOBOR reform is long overdue. Why the General Assembly needs to act | Opinion


Andrew Dunphy is a retired federal agent and a second-year law student at Roger Williams University School of Law.  He is a fellow with the American Bar Association Police Practices Consortium.

Two recent cases involving police officers should cause state legislators to question whether the Rhode Island Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights adequately serves its citizens. LEOBOR affords protections to officers accused of misconduct on duty, and at least 20 other states have versions of it. 

The Rhode Island LEOBOR, among other provisions, limits how police misconduct information can be shared with the public and affords officers a hearing before a panel of active or retired police officers before any discipline greater than a two-day unpaid suspension can be imposed.  Proponents view LEOBOR as necessary because of the stressful, split-second decisions officers are forced to make and the high stakes of those decisions. Critics say it shields police from accountability, protects them from meaningful discipline and places unnecessary restrictions on release of public information. Two recent Rhode Island cases exemplify their concerns.

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More: Ex-RI state cop sues, saying he was wrongly fired amid mental-health crisis. What to know.

In 2018, a Woonsocket police officer was charged in Massachusetts with breaking and entering and assault with a dangerous weapon.  In Massachusetts court, the officer admitted to the facts underlying those offenses. The court continued his case for a year, after which it agreed to drop the charges. Soon after the officer made his admissions in court, the City of Woonsocket terminated him. He appealed the termination, the panel of active and retired police officers sided with him, and a Rhode Island court found that Woonsocket violated the LEOBOR.  In November 2023, the Woonsocket City Council agreed to pay the officer $500,000 to settle his legal claims against the city. 

In 2021, an off-duty Pawtucket officer in his personal vehicle saw a teen speeding and followed him into a parking lot to have a “fatherly chat.”  Not in uniform, the officer approached the vehicle with his weapon drawn. Afraid of an unknown man approaching with a gun, the teen backed away and allegedly bumped the officer with his car. The officer fired his weapon and struck the teen in the shoulder. Charged with assault with a deadly weapon, the officer testified during his trial that he fired in self-defense, and he was acquitted.  Assistant Attorney General John Corrigan said the officer “was lying through his teeth” when he said he shot in self-defense. 

In November 2023, the officer resigned from the Pawtucket Police Department as part of a negotiated settlement after the city paid him nearly $124,000.  Acknowledging how unfair the decision appeared, Mayor Donald G. Grebien lamented that “going to LEOBOR” would likely have cost the city substantially more.

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More: Providence police officer Lugo to keep his job despite efforts to terminate him

A number of other states are wrestling with the efficacy of LEOBOR laws.  In 2021, Maryland became the first state to repeal its LEOBOR statute.  Amid promises of LEOBOR reform, a proposal wound its way through the Rhode Island General Assembly early in 2023. Thought sensible reform by many, the bill nevertheless died in the House in June.

Law enforcement officers across the country serve honorably every day in an often dangerous and unpredictable environment. Mistakes can occur, and well-intentioned officers deserve protection. However, those who engage in criminal behavior are a blight on the profession and a danger to society.  When LEOBOR protects them instead of holding them accountable, it has failed. 

It’s time for the General Assembly to stop talking about LEOBOR reform and instead act on it. 



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Rhode Island

Rhode Island health centers raise alarm over proposed Medicaid cuts – TPR: The Public's Radio

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Rhode Island health centers raise alarm over proposed Medicaid cuts – TPR: The Public's Radio


Famous homeowners like Taylor Swift have helped polish the image of Westerly, R.I. But the tony image belies a harsher reality for the year-round folks in this beach town.

More than one in five of the town’s roughly 23,100 residents – close to 5,000 people – are enrolled in Medicaid, the government insurance program for people with low-incomes or disabilities, according to the latest monthly report released by the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services. 

Now, many of those residents who work in the restaurants, hotels, bars and beach clubs which have made Westerly a vacation destination are at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage under a proposed plan by House Republicans, according to local health advocates and U.S. Democratic Rep. Seth Magaziner. 

The House Budget Committee voted on Feb. 13 to seek at least $880 billion in mandated spending cuts on programs overseen by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The committee oversees Medicaid, which is expected to bear the brunt of those cuts. 

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House Republicans, who have a narrow majority in Congress, are expected to vote on the budget proposal this week. 

Magaziner said he plans to “try to convince at least a handful of House Republicans not to gut the health care of millions of people in order to pay for tax cuts for rich people.” 

The proposed cuts, Magaziner and local health advocates said, would especially hurt nonprofit federally qualified health centers, the safety net of last resort for the uninsured, the underinsured, and other vulnerable people. 

“But it’s not just low-income people,’’ Magaziner said in an interview Monday. “Many people who are solidly middle class qualify for Medicaid, and this would pull the rug out from under them as well.”

On Monday, Magaziner talked about the proposed cuts during a visit to the Wood River Health Services, a nonprofit community health center with offices in Westerly and Hope Valley. About 40% of Wood River Health’s patients are covered by Medicaid, said Alison L. Croke, the center’s president and CEO. 

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During the last five years, Wood River Health’s patient population has grown by nearly 50 percent, from 6,700 patients in 2019 to more than 10,000 patients last year, according to Croke.

In response to the increased demand for care, Croke said, Wood River Health has expanded its offices in Westerly, built a new facility in Hope Valley and begun offering dental care on Block Island. 

And the demand is not just from Medicaid patients. Wood River Health also cares for seniors on Medicare (about 20% of its population) and people with commercial insurance coverage.

“We have folks that are landscapers, people who are bartenders, people who are barbers, hairdressers, (people who) clean houses,” Croke said, as well as “doctors and lawyers and bankers.’’

The center’s finances are already strained, she said. For the first time since she joined Wood River Health six years ago, Croke said, the center is projecting a deficit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024.

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And the projected deficit, she said, is before any of the proposed federal cuts to Medicaid.  

It’s unclear which, if any, of the proposed cuts to Medicaid that Magaziner has outlined will be approved by House Republicans. But among the ideas being circulated, he said, is cutting people from the Medicaid rolls added during the expansion of the Affordable Care Act. Rhode Island was among the first states to expand its Medicaid rolls, in 2014. Many of the newly insured during the expansion were working single adults who did not have employer coverage. 

Any significant cuts to Medicaid also are expected to have a ripple effect throughout the health care system, which depends on the funds to reimburse health clinics, nursing homes and hospitals, among others. Health centers, already strained by a national provider shortage and a rise in patients since the pandemic, could be forced to cut staff and services – or shut down altogether. 

“The reductions that are being considered…would require the health centers to really dramatically reduce their workforce,’’ said Elena Nicolella, president of the trade group the Rhode Island Health Care Association. And cutting workers, she said, would result in more overworked clinicians leaving, longer wait times for patients to get appointments, and more delays in care resulting in more and sicker patients winding up in hospital emergency rooms.

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RI Lottery Lucky For Life, Numbers Midday winning numbers for Feb. 23, 2025

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The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Feb. 23, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Feb. 23 drawing

01-18-43-44-46, Lucky Ball: 07

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Numbers numbers from Feb. 23 drawing

Midday: 8-7-1-8

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Evening: 5-1-6-0

Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Wild Money numbers from Feb. 23 drawing

07-08-09-26-27, Extra: 29

Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

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Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

  • Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
  • Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
  • Winners of the Lucky for Life top prize of $1,000 a day for life and second prize of $25,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.

When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
  • Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
  • Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
  • Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
  • Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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Rhode Island basketball routed at Saint Louis. Here’s what happened

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Rhode Island basketball routed at Saint Louis. Here’s what happened


Saint Louis led wire-to-wire in Saturday’s Atlantic 10 matchup with visiting Rhode Island, topping the Rams, 81-66 — a contest in which URI was outrebounded on the offensive glass 11-0.

Rhode Island’s Jamarques Lawrence scored a team-best 19 points, including going 5-for-6 from 3-point range, David Green had 16 points and Sebastian Thomas added 8 points and nine assists in the loss. For the host Billikens, Robbie Avila led all scorers with 22 points and Gibson Jimerson had his first career double-double (21 points, 11 rebounds). Saint Louis connected on a season-high 15 3-pointers.

URI would get as close one point (43-42) with 17:03 to play, but Saint Louis extended its lead thanks to a 7-0 run, outscoring the Rams 38-24 the rest of the way.

On the boards, the Billikens outrebounded Rhode Island 42-29, and the lack of the Rams’ offensive rebounds led to a 12-0 Saint Louis advantage in second-chance points. The Billikens’ bench also outscored Rhode Island’s, 21-10.

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The Billikens (15-12, 8-6 A-10) are now in a three-way tie (with Dayton and Saint Joseph’s) for fourth place in the A-10 with four games remaining. The top four teams in the final standings receive a double bye in the A-10 Championship. Rhode Island slips to 17-9 overall and 6-8 in Atlantic 10 play, good for a three-way tie for ninth place in the conference.

URI will host Dayton (18-9, 8-6) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.



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