Statement from Council President Sabina Matos Regarding The FOP’s Call For Vote of No Confidence

Statement from Council President Sabina Matos Regarding The FOP’s Call For Vote of No Confidence:

In an email sent out by the President of the Providence Police Union in encouragement of this no-confidence vote he implores officers to ‘all stick together.’

I find it disappointing that my public support of a firefighter who felt racially profiled by our police department would warrant this type of response by union leaders.

How is any community member supposed to feel comfortable coming forward with their own stories if the union responds in this manner to a black elected official simply for speaking out against racial profiling?

‘Sticking together’ is precisely one of the root causes of the problem. It’s one of the main reasons people are marching in the streets all over this country. It’s this same fraternal attitude that intimidates good officers from coming forward and reporting incidents of abuse by peers or superiors. ‘Sticking together’ is the type of mantra that would cause an officer not to intervene.

I welcome constructive dialogue with President Imondi and his leadership team and hope that their visceral response to my statement against racial profiling will not stand in the way of collaborative solutions.

Sabina Matos, President

Providence City Council

Councilwoman – Ward 15