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Boston Globe
02-07-2025
- Boston Globe
Pawtucket police release edited videos in shooting of mentally disabled man with a toy gun, raising more questions
It's also the only video the city released that shows the shooting. The footage from Letourneau's body-worn camera was edited to show only 4 minutes and 2 seconds after the shooting occurred. That clip begins with Letourneau handcuffing James Dean, a resident who was tackled by police as he yelled at officers not to shoot Yidana. It is labeled 'redacted' and does not show the shooting itself. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up Footage from the body-worn camera of Pawtucket Police Officer Thomas Letourneau on June 8, 2025, shows his actions after he shot Sebastian Yidana. Advertisement Letourneau can be heard trying to catch his breath and cursing. Another officer walks him to a cruiser and tells him to take a seat inside. 'F--k. My body camera's on, f--k,' Letourneau says and throws his sunglasses on the dashboard. 'Don't talk to anybody, all right?' a third officer tells him soon after. 'Take a breath.' The other videos captured the chaotic aftermath, as swarms of officers responded in seconds to Letourneau's call about 'shots fired.' Officer Matthew Levasseur jumped out of his cruiser with his gun drawn, shouting at Dean, a resident who was shouting at police as he stood with Yidana. 'Get out of the way so we can help him!' Levasseur shouted. Advertisement Levasseur was the first officer to reach Yidana. He called for a rescue and yelled for gloves, and asked the fallen man's name. 'I might die,' Yidana answered softly, barely audible under James' screams. 'I hope I die.' Video from the body camera worn by Pawtucket Officer Matthew Levasseur on June 8, 2025, shows the aftermath of the shooting of Sebastian Yidana. 'You're not gonna die, buddy,' Levasseur responded. He pulled on gloves and put pressure on Yidana's bleeding wound. 'Was it an officer who did this?' Levasseur asked, several times. 'Yes,' Yidana said. Dean had his hands in the air, screaming, 'Toy gun!' as Officer Andrew Dutra drew his gun and shouted for him to get on the ground. Letourneau tackled Dean to the pavement, and as the officers handcuffed him, Dean kept asking, 'Why am I getting arrested?' One officer picked up the camouflage-colored, orange-tipped, plastic toy gun that Yidana dropped when he was shot. When Officer Nicholas Dadona saw it, he sounded confused. 'That's not the gun,' Dadona can be heard saying on the video from his body-worn camera. 'Where's the real gun?' In body-camera video footage released by officials, a Pawtucket police officer holds the toy gun 28-year-old Sebastian Yidana, a mentally disabled man, was holding when he was shot by Pawtucket Police Officer Thomas Letourneau on June 8. (Pawtucket Police Department) Pawtucket Police Department Yidana had been playing with the toy gun as he stood at the corner of Goff Avenue and Broad Street, outside his apartment building at 10 Goff Ave. 'He's been doing that with the gun the last couple of days, out here, going up to people's cars,' a woman was overheard telling another officer on one of the videos released by the police department. Scott Fontes, Advertisement The bullets also struck a parked vehicle and the front of the Blackstone Valley Community Action Program building on Goff Avenue. Scott Fontes points to bullet holes in the Blackstone Valley Community Action Program building on June 27, 2025. Fontes said those bullets came from a Pawtucket police officer who shot at a mentally disabled man holding a toy gun on June 8, 2025. Amanda Milkovits/Globe Staff Yidana's family said the videos do not explain why he was shot. 'Please, please release all of the videos right now,' implored Yidana's mother, Regina Socree. 'I don't understand why they are playing this game. Release them so we can see what actually happened. This is a human being we are talking about.' Yidana was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia when he was in his late teens; his mother said the police are aware of his mental illness. From his bed at Rhode Island Hospital, Sebastian Yidana recovers at Rhode Island Hospital after being shot by Pawtucket Police Officer while carrying a toy gun. (Regina Socree) Regina Socree The city of Pawtucket has been slow to release any information about the police shooting over the last three and a half weeks. Aside from statements at the scene, Police Chief Tina Goncalves has not answered questions about the shooting. After The city hasn't responded to a public-records request made two weeks ago for the police radio and dispatch calls from the shooting. Although arrest reports are made public within 48 hours under state law, the department didn't respond to the Globe's request for Yidana's until June 25, after the Globe appealed to Grebien and the attorney general's office. Advertisement The 18-page report showed someone had called about a man with an Airsoft gun with an orange tip — indicating that the gun was a toy. Two other officers reported that someone had called about a man with a BB gun. The city still hasn't released a written narrative from Letourneau. City Solicitor Frank Milos told the Globe on June 26 that Letourneau had not yet written one. Video from the body worn camera of Pawtucket Officer Andrew Dutra shows Officer Thomas Letourneau being walked to a police cruiser. Letourneau was placed on administrative leave after the shooting. A video from the body worn camera of Pawtucket Officer Andrew Dutra shows him being walked to a police cruiser after the shooting. A spokesman for the attorney general's office said prosecutors and the state police are continuing to investigate the shooting with Pawtucket police, as is protocol for officer-involved shootings in Rhode Island. Over the last 20 years, Pawtucket police officers have fatally shot seven people and wounded one other person. Each incident was deemed justified by a grand jury. The attorney general's office told the Globe it had no objection to Pawtucket releasing the videos once all the witnesses were interviewed. Other police departments generally release the videos of police shootings that include the incident. Pawtucket's release of edited videos 'was pointless, really,' said Choice McDonnough, Yidana's older sister. 'It doesn't answer what took place prior to the shooting. It just shows a bystander or witness defending Sebastian who is being arrested for no reason.' Pawtucket State Representative Cherie Cruz (left) comforts Regina Socree on Friday as she spoke about her son Sebastian Yidana, who was shot and wounded by a Pawtucket officer on June 8. (Amanda Milkovits/Globe Staff) Amanda Milkovits/Globe Staff The Pawtucket police did not charge Dean or Fontes, who were merely bystanders. However, the police lodged two felony charges against Yidana for allegedly carrying a device that resembled a firearm and pointing it at Letourneau on June 8 and another, unnamed person on June 7. Advertisement Those charges cost Yidana his housing. Pawtucket state representative Cherie Cruz criticized how the Pawtucket police have handled the shooting, saying that it undermined any trust from the community. 'Residents have to live in fear that they have no rights or protection from police violence. Who holds police accountable when they do commit crimes against residents, police themselves?' Cruz told the Globe. 'It will not happen when police police themselves.... a panel of cops will never hold other cops accountable for their lawlessness, crime, and violence.' Amanda Milkovits can be reached at
Boston Globe
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Demolition crew finds second time capsule at McCoy Stadium site, this one commemorating baseball's longest game
'The longest game is part of McCoy Stadium's legacy, and finding this time capsule means a part of that legacy will live on,' Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien said in a statement. Both time capsules will be opened during a June 23 ceremony marking the 44th anniversary of baseball's longest game. The newly uncovered capsule was was buried between home plate and the grass area in front of the pitcher's mound, spokesman Christopher D. Hunter said. The time capsule was carefully removed and is now being held in a secure location by the Pawtucket Police Department, he said. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up Advertisement The stadium is being demolished to make way for the $314 million The longest game began on a windy, cold night on April 18, 1981, and continued into Easter morning for 32 innings before the International League finally suspended the game. The tie-breaking 33rd inning took place on June 23, 1981, lasting just 18 minutes. Pawtucket won, 3–2, when first baseman Dave Koza drove a ball to left field, bringing home second baseman Marty Barrett. The game included two future Baseball Hall of Famers — Pawtucket third baseman Wade Boggs and Rochester third baseman Cal Ripken Jr. Advertisement Earlier this month, crews According to Dan Barry's book ' Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at
Boston Globe
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Crews demolishing McCoy Stadium find 85-year-old time capsule
The Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up 'Eighty-five years ago a time capsule was placed into the cornerstone of McCoy Stadium, and today that piece of the stadium's long and proud history has been found,' Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien said in a statement. Advertisement The time capsule is now being held in a secure location by the Pawtucket Police Department. The stadium is being demolished to make way for the $314 million In March, an excavator stood in centerfield, looking toward home plate at McCoy Stadium. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff The Pawtucket Red Sox called the city-owned stadium home for half a century before the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox left McCoy for Worcester and a new stadium that Advertisement Grebien said construction and demolition crews are continuing to look for a second time capsule, with items commemorating the longest professional baseball game, that former PawSox management and players believe to be buried somewhere between the former stadium's home plate and pitcher's mound. If found, the contents of that time capsule also will be unveiled at the June 23 event, he said. Pawtucket City Council President Terrence E. Mercer, whose District 3 includes the site, said, 'I'm pleased that this time capsule has been found and preserved so it can be shared with future generations of Pawtucket residents as a reminder of the stadium's proud history.' Mercer, who grew up next to McCoy, said he's sad to see the stadium being demolished, but 'thrilled' that it will soon be home to the city's new high school. Pawtucket School Committee Chairman Omar Reyes said, 'The demolition of the former McCoy Stadium is paving the way for the future of Pawtucket students as we prepare to start construction on our new Pawtucket High School. Finding this time capsule is a reminder of the stadium's long and proud history, a history that will be incorporated into our new high school for future generations of students to cherish and learn from.' Chris Maury, head Rhode Island operations at Shawmut Design and Construction, said, 'It was an exciting moment for our team to discover, identify, and carefully preserve the capsule found in the stadium's original cornerstone.' He said the crews are using ground-penetrating radar to search for the second time capsule. 'We remain committed to a safe, respectful process every step of the way,' he said. Advertisement Demolition of McCoy Stadium is scheduled to be completed by the end of May. Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at
