Terrell Paci: Rhode Island black firefighter held at gunpoint by cops despite being in uniform and on duty
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND: Even as hundreds of thousands around the country protest police brutality and racial inequality following George Floyd's Memorial Day death, an African-American Rhode Island firefighter has accused the police of racially profiling him while he was in uniform and on-duty.
Terrell Paci told WPRI he was sitting in a friend's car outside of the Messer Street Fire Department where he works when two police officers allegedly came up to him and drew their guns. He said he had been on duty and told them immediately he was a firefighter. "I was dressed in full uniform and had my radio in hand," he said. "I was like, 'I’m a firefighter, I’m PFD, I’m one of you’ and they still kept approaching the vehicle with guns drawn."
"And then the white cop asked if I had a gun after just identifying me as a Providence firefighter," he shared. "I said, 'I am not allowed to have a weapon on the job, why would I have a weapon?'"
He said he had just been eating the food his friend had brought him and that the officers told him he matched the description of a suspect who had been waving a gun nearby.
"The white cop then asked to search the car," he continued. "He asked the driver and the driver consented. He then went to my side, the passenger's side, and searched. He never searched her side, never searched her purse, never searched her glove box, never searched her registration and insurance, then moved onto the back. He said, 'There is too much stuff in the back, I do not want to inconvenience you and take up your time.' But you already took up my time."
Paci said the officer then "hastily" got back into his vehicle and drove off, and that a few hours later, a police sergeant visited the fire station and apologized for the two officers' actions. However, neither of them was present.
Chris Bernal, a fellow firefighter, spoke out in Paci's support. "Why is a young black male in uniform at his job a threat to a police officer?" he said. "And when they noticed, why didn't they fall back and correct the situation there?"
International Association of Firefighters Local 799 president Derek Silva condemned the officers' actions and said Paci was a victim of "racial profiling." He said the incident proved that "even in uniform – a young black man is not immune from the impact of systemic, institutional racism."
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza echoed Silva's sentiments and said Paci's experience with the officers was "deeply, deeply disturbing."
"We have opened an investigation into this incident and it will receive our full and immediate attention," he said. "No one should have to experience something like this and we apologize on behalf of our city for the trauma it has caused. We stand with Firefighter Paci and thank him for his unwavering dedication to a city that he protects every day through his service."
In an email statement, Providence Police spokesperson Lindsay Lague confirmed that the department was aware of the allegations against two of its officers and was looking into the incident. However, she declined to name the officers and said body camera footage would not be released until the investigation is complete.
Following the incident, Paci was one of the thousands who attended a rally in Providence on Friday, June 5, against racial inequality. "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing," he said. "And we can’t do nothing."