State Police Raid Turns Into Confrontation: Carcieri: State Had ‘Every Right’ To Raid Smoke Shop. The videotape also showed a police dog nipping at the clothing of a man who is handcuffed and face-down on the ground.
Then: They went to federal court yesterday seeking a restraining order that would allow them to reopen the smoke shop on tribal lands without state interference.
The tribe’s motion is scheduled to be heard in a closed-door hearing before U.S. District Court Judge William Smith. Closer to home, the Rhode Island Civil Rights Roundtable issued a statement calling the raid “inappropriate and excessive.”
“While state officials place the blame on the Narragansetts for provoking this terrible incident, one does not defuse a situation by bringing in a few dozen troopers and police dogs to execute a warrant.”
