Batista held a press conference regarding PERA’s findings on Nov. 10.

The head of PERA expressed that he wanted his organization and the police department to have a partnership concerning investigations.

“I want to be equal partners with them in the investigation,” Batista said.

“The reason why PERA exists is to provide the civilian perspective,” he said. “There’s clearly a whole separate set of rules and laws that apply to police officers. And sometimes — as is the case with any government department — the ship can float too far away from the dock.”

Batista also acknowledged that releasing the video may put his job in jeopardy, but he recognized that since the organization’s inception in 2018 little had been done to harbor transparency from the police department.

“In our review, we got a chance to see who else was present,” the director continued. “Did they follow the procedure? Why did they? Why didn’t they? All those other peripheral questions that you don’t necessarily get from the original reports.”

“It brings it back to this systemic issue,” he explained. “What are we doing to create a system that promotes more transparency, that promotes more fairness, that promotes more justice, that encourages and protects police officers who call out examples of things they don’t think [are] okay?"

Hanley has been charged with misdemeanor assault. In July, Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza called for the department to fire the reportedly aggressive law enforcement agent, according to Go Local Prov.

“Our policing approach in Providence is centered first and foremost in building trust with our residents and this incident fails to represent the core values of our Police Department,” he said in a statement.

Despite being charged, Hanley has yet to be fired.

José Batista

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