Column: Unanswered questions on smokeshop raid

Thursday, August 2, 2007  

"I was surprised to arrive at a Superior Court hearing Tuesday and learn that retired state police Col. Steven Pare had already been on the stand and testified that Governor Carcieri did not order him to withdraw troopers if they met resistance when raiding the Narragansett Indian smoke shop in 2003.

Pare’s assertion, contradicting what Carcieri had told the public back then, seemed odd. I recalled that when the governor talked about it at a July 15 news conference, one day after the raid, Pare was standing right there.

Carcieri said the police had “explicit” instructions to avoid conflict if they met any resistance and he wondered why they had not retreated when the Narragansetts did resist. He said he was directing Pare to investigate “why my instructions were not followed.”

The thought flashed through my mind on Tuesday: Why hadn’t Pare spoken up right away if Carcieri was not accurately portraying the orders he’d given?"

Get the Story:
M. Charles Bakst: Smoke-shop raid — Pare’s take then, now (The Providence Journal 8/2)
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Relevant Links:
Narragansett Tribe - http://www.narragansett-tribe.org

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