Rhode Island Police Detective Charged With Domestic Assault

John “Joe” Black

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A detective in the Providence Police Department’s intelligence unit is accused of assaulting his girlfriend in her Federal Hill apartment on Monday night.

John “Joe” Black, a decorated veteran officer who often works undercover, was arrested at the scene, said Chief Hugh T. Clements Jr. Black is on administrative duty while the incident is under investigation.

Police were called around 8 p.m. about a disturbance in the second-floor apartment at 296 Atwells Ave., where they found Black and his girlfriend.

The woman told police that they’d gotten into an argument while out at dinner, and when they returned to her apartment, Black wanted to collect his badge and gun, according to a police report.

The woman, who was not identified, told police that she didn’t want to let Black in. She said he assaulted her and tried to take her keys, and then grabbed her phone when she wanted to call 911, according to the report. The woman said she fought back — scratching Black and giving him a black eye, according to the report. The woman also suffered an undisclosed injury.

Capt. Luis San Lucas and Lt. Richard Fernandes, the commander of the neighborhood district, also responded to the call. Black was arrested and charged with domestic simple assault and failure to relinquish the phone.

Black was arraigned by a bail commissioner early Tuesday and released on his own recognizance.

His next court date is set for May 8.

Black, 45, has been with the Providence Police Department since 2005, and he has won numerous awards for arrests and narcotics investigations. Last year, he was involved with a wiretap investigation titled “Stop the Flow” that swept three dozen people allegedly involved with trafficking heroin and fentanyl from Providence to southeastern Massachusetts. He was also involved in “Operation Hubcap,” an investigation in 2013 into drug-dealing at Kennedy Plaza. Black was one of three Providence officers who were shot and wounded by a suspect during a drug raid in 2009.

Source: http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20180424/providence-police-detective-charged-with-domestic-assault