The Fraternal Order of Police in Providence is very powerful. The Ruggiero/West case, described above, was not the first time the FOP had resisted strong action by police leaders against Providence police officers caught being abusive on videotape. On January 13, 1992, three officers were suspended after a videotape aired on local television, showing a high school student, accused of assaulting an assistant principal, being restrained by two officers and struck with a baton by a third. After viewing the videotape, Mayor Cianci called for the officers' immediate suspension with pay, stating, "We're not going to have another Los Angeles here," referring to the televised beating of Rodney G. King the previous year.43 The FOP president immediately labeled the suspensions "an overreaction" and asserted that the officers had acted properly. He warned that the suspensions would send a signal to the "criminal element [to] mess with the police."44

43 Ken Mingis and Laura Meade Kirk, "Police's use of force at issue," Providence Journal-Bulletin, January 14, 1992.

44 Ibid.