PAWTUCKET – The city saw a 530 percent increase in calls related to fireworks last year, says Pawtucket Police Department Capt. David Holden, leading to a revised approach in 2020 that led to more offenders being caught setting off illegal aerial displays.
During a meeting of the City Council’s public safety subcommittee last week, council members asked Holden and Chief Tina Goncalves for an update on their approach to fireworks as they prepare to again field numerous calls from constituents complaining about the annual summertime disruption in their neighborhoods.
Holden said the Neighborhood Response Unit was busy during the pandemic, taking an adapted approach once police realized how big the fireworks problem was going to be. Officers responded to neighborhoods in unmarked Community Policing Unit cars, he said, spending time waiting to catch offenders in the act as they tried to pinpoint exact addresses. Police followed up during daytime hours, he said, speaking to neighbor
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Several employees at a medical manufacturing facility in Rhode Island were exposed to some sort of chemical irritant and transported to a hospital for treatment Thursday afternoon. It seems to be contained to the facility itself, a spokesperson for the Pawtucket Police Department told Fox News. We re not sure exactly what the employees were exposed to, but we think it was some type of irritant.
Pawtucket’s acting public safety director, Chief Tina Goncalves, told WPRI that authorities were initially called to the scene and determined that an odor or smell in the air had caused [an employee] difficulty breathing.
PAWTUCKET – Vibe Lounge on Broad Street is now closed until at least the date of a planned city hearing on May 11 after a shooting and other incidents there.
The City Council’s Board of License Commissioners held a rare weekend emergency hearing last Saturday, April 24, to schedule formal action on the matter for Tuesday, April 27, and the board ended up continuing the matter for two weeks until May 11 so an attorney for the owners can prepare a defense.
Responding to concerns from commissioners, attorney Peter Petrarca assured the council that no one will be in the building during the two weeks under a voluntary closure.