The Providence City Council passed a controversial community policing ordinance Thursday night, known as the Providence Community-Police Relations Act. The measure, which increases protections against police profiling and codifies how police use body cameras, passed overwhelmingly with a 13-1 vote.
First conceived in 2014, the policing ordinance was expected to pass in April, but the council tabled it after hearing opposition from the city’s police union.
The atmosphere was tense on Thursday as councilors, one by one, announced their votes on the ordinance. This time the measure passed easily, with a lone dissenting vote from Councilman Michael Correia.
Supporters in the council chambers cheered the result, which they said would reduce profiling by police and hold law enforcement more accountable to the public.
The ordinance expands the prohibition of profiling to include race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and religion. It also mandates how officers will conduct traffic and pedestrian stops. The measure will allow individuals to contest their placement on the city’s so-called gang database, and now requires parental notification if a minor is placed on the list.
The City Council called the ordinance landmark legislation. “The comprehensive scope of the ordinance makes it the first of its kind in the country.” The scope was also the source of the ordinance’s controversy, as law enforcement said it would hamper their work.
Advocate Vanessa Flores-Maldanado has been working to get the measure passed for three years.
“We’re hoping that through this ordinance, we can help have a lot of education out there. Help people learn exactly what their rights are,” said Flores-Maldonado. “So we’re hoping that through this a lot more people will feel secure in their homes, in the color of their skin, in their identity.”
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza has said he intends to sign the ordinance. The Providence Police Union issued a statement saying they still do not support the measure.
“It is naïve to think that this ordinance is going to solve racial profiling, but we are hoping to at least be able to give the community some power when incidents happen,” said Flores-Maldonado.
