Providence woman sues police over deadly 2017 highway shooting

PROVIDENCE — The 15-car police high-speed pursuit that ended in deadly gunfire on a Route 95 on-ramp made national news in 2017, and now the Providence woman seriously injured after a bullet penetrated her liver and a kidney is suing the Providence police and Rhode Island State Police.

Christine Demers, 39, filed suit Wednesday in state Superior Court, accusing the Providence Police Department, the Rhode Island State Police, and individual officers and troopers of engaging in a reckless and unnecessary pursuit that put Demers and others at risk and left her boyfriend, Joseph Santos, dead after a hail of gunfire.

“The Providence Police and the Rhode Island State Police together created a situation which put Christine Demers’s life at significant risk and ultimately resulted in her severe and permanent injuries. At every step, the police acted to put Ms. Demers in increased danger. They were looking for a man suspected of stealing a car; there was no reason to believe he was armed or violent. At most, the only traffic violations officers witnessed Joseph Santos commit before the multi-car pursuit were minor traffic infractions. These facts do not warrant a fifteen-car high-speed police pursuit. The police created the circumstances which caused an erratic man to become more and more erratic,” Demers’ lawyer, Georgi J. Vogel-Rosen, wrote in an email statement.

The lawsuit stems from a sequence of events the morning of Nov. 9, 2017.

The police were searching for a man who stole a state police cruiser while being driven to court to face charges that he had stolen a car. The cruiser was found abandoned in Providence’s West End, with the trooper’s rifle in the trunk. The suspect, Donald W. Morgan, with a lengthy criminal record, remained at large and was believed to be in a white Ford F-150 pickup.

A call went out and Cranston police tried to stop Santos as he drove through Cranston in a white F-350 pickup with his girlfriend of two months, Demers. Santos had no license and the truck was unregistered, his brother, Lucas Tiberio, said.

Santos sped away as Demers cried out “What are you doing?” according to the lawsuit.

While Cranston police dropped away, soon seven Rhode Island State Police cars and five driven by Providence police were in pursuit as Santos merged onto Route 10 north.

Demers said Santos appeared in a trance as she screamed in terror for him to stop the truck. He took the ramp to Route 95 north, when traffic came to a stop because Providence officer Gregory Paolo had partially blocked the road.

Santos continued to try to flee, putting the truck in reverse and ramming nearby cars. Four state troopers and five Providence police then fired 43 rounds, fatally hitting Santos. A state police bullet punctured Demers’ kidney, liver and diaphragm.

Demers has since undergone multiple surgeries and blood transfusions and has endured “extensive” physical and emotional suffering at significant expense, the suit says. Previously physically active and “proud of her body,” she now struggles to climb stairs, has serious scarring, and experiences ongoing symptoms of PTSD.

Demers accuses the nine officers who fired on her of assault, battery and using excessive force that left her disabled, with less future earning capacity.

She charges now retired Providence Lt. Michelle Guerette, who approved the pursuit and now leads the Police Department in Medfield, Massachusetts; the City of Providence; and the state with engaging in a negligent and reckless pursuit for failing to terminate the chase although the state police cruiser and rifle had already been recovered, Morgan was not known to be armed, and officers had Santos’s license-plate number.

Demers also takes aim at Paolo and the city for what she says is the negligent and reckless creation of a roadblock when “no true emergency existed” and without regard for the sanctity of human life and her own and other bystanders’ safety.

According to the suit, the Providence Police Department has since enacted policies restricting caravanning pursuits and banning roadblocks such as Paolo’s.

A Providence County grand jury in February 2018 cleared the Providence police officers and Rhode Island State Police troopers involved in the shooting. The state police officers were Lt. Cynthia Trahan, Cpl. Scott Carlsten, Cpl. Herbert Tilson and Trooper Garrett Hassett. The Providence police officers included Maj. Oscar Perez, Paolo, Officer Matthew McGloin, Officer Thomas Zincone and Officer Christopher Ziroli.

The state police issued this email response; “The Rhode Island State Police has not yet been served a copy of the Complaint from Ms. Demers. As such, it would be inappropriate to provide any response or comment at this time.”

The Providence police declined to comment because the lawsuit is pending.

Vogel-Rosen said her client looks forward to presenting her case to a jury.

“It was obvious that the multi-car pursuit was exacerbating the situation and putting innocent people in danger. When the Providence officer parked his car at the top of the I-95 on-ramp, he created a situation that made an encounter between the driver and the police inevitable. It was clear that the driver was intent on eluding the police,” said Vogel-Rosen, who is representing Demers with Gil A. Bianchi Jr.

kmulvane@providencejournal.com

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