PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A civilian review board that oversees the Providence Police Department has fired its executive director for unilaterally releasing videos that show a police sergeant allegedly assaulting a suspect.
The Providence External Review Authority voted 6-3 Monday night to fire Jose Batista, the full-time executive director who was hired by the volunteer board last year to investigate and mediate complaints of police misconduct made by the public.
Batista released the videos last week after the panel voted not to make them public.
Batista, a Democratic state representative-elect for Providence, acknowledged last week he was jeopardizing his job in going against the board’s wishes.
“The surprise to me is not that I got fired, but that I was able to last as long as I did,” Batista told WPRI-TV. He said he has faced “fierce opposition” from the start from some board members about his police oversight philosophy.
The officer in the videos has pleaded not guilty to assault and is facing termination by the city.
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