Department News & Events
SENATOR WHITEHOUSE RECOGNIZES CRANSTON POLICE OFFICER
On Friday, September 30th, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse came to Cranston Police Headquarters to personally recognize the heroic efforts of Officer Mallory Reis who saved the life of a three year old Massachusetts boy earlier this year.
As many of you likely recall, earlier this summer on July 9, 2011, Officer Mallory Reis was off duty and on vacation when she instinctively jumped into action and helped save the life of a three year old boy who nearly drowned at the Curlew Pond, located in Myles Standish State Forest in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Apparently the boy was swimming just after 12:30 near the campsite at a beach that had no lifeguard posted on duty. The three year old boy was pulled out of the water by his nine year old sister and according to witness accounts; the child was unresponsive, blue and had no vital signs.
Officer Reis, who was on the beach at the time, saw the commotion and immediately went over to assist and immediately began to perform Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on the child, and continued to do so until she was assisted by an off duty firefighter who came over from the nearby campground. Officer Reis and Firefighter Raymond Ryan then performed tandem CPR until rescue crews arrived a short time later. As a result of her life saving efforts, the child has remarkably made a full recovery.
Cranston Police Chief, Colonel Marco Palombo, Jr. commented, “Officer Reis did an outstanding job of maintaining a calm approach in a chaotic situation. That mental approach is something all public safety personnel strive for. We are all very proud of her and pleased that the little boy has made a full recovery.
Cranston Stop Signs
Click on the above link for an interactive map of undocumented stop signs within the city. For your safety, the safety of your passengers and others, it is still vital to obey these signs and we will update this website when this issue is resolved.
Snow Removal Requirements
Snow and ice--Removal of snow--Penalty.
The owner, occupant or an building or lot of land bordering on any street, highway, square or public place where there is a sidewalk supported by curbing, shall, within the first twenty-four (24) hours after any snow has ceased to fall, cause the snow to be removed from the sidewalk adjoining such building or lot of land.
In case of neglect so to do, the person chargeable with such duty shall pay a fine not exceeding twenty dollars ($20.00) and for each and every hour after the expiration of such twenty-four (24) hours that the snow shall remain on the sidewalk, such owner, occupant or other person shall pay a fine of not less than one nor more than two dollars.
(Prior code § 27-7)
Snow and ice--Snow falling from buildings.
The provisions of Section 12.16.010 shall apply to the falling of snow from any building.
(Prior code § 27-8)
Snow and ice--Removal of ice--Penalty.
Whenever any sidewalk, or any part thereof, adjoining any building or lot of land on any street, highway, square or public place where such sidewalks are supported by curbing, shall be encumbered by ice, it shall be the duty of the owner, occupant or any person having the care of such building or lot, to cause such sidewalk to be made safe and convenient by removing the ice therefrom or by covering the same with sand or some other suitable substance.
In case such owner, occupant or person shall neglect so to do for the space of three hours during the daytime, he or she shall pay a fine of not exceeding twenty dollars ($20.00), and a like sum for every day thereafter that the same shall continue so encumbered.
(Prior code § 27-9)
CRANSTON POLICE NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME WATCH IN ARLINGTON
As a key initiative to the Cranston Police Department’s overall mission to establish and maintain proactive partnerships with our residents and business owners to help control crime, a crime watch association will be established in the Arlington section of the city in the very near future.
One of the major tenets of Community Policing is to get the citizens involved and by properly establishing neighborhood crime watches, the amount of crime in an area can actually be reduced. Community meetings and neighborhood crime watches allow the public and police to get together and come up with ideas and programs that will help them to work out mutual solutions to the problems occurring in a certain area.
Lt. Paul Saccoccia is the district Lieutenant in charge of the Arlington section of the city and he has announced there will be an organizational meeting in the very near future to establish a neighborhood crime watch and to also give residents the opportunity to attend this community meeting to share information and relay their concerns regarding criminal activity in the Arlington area such as the recent rash of spray paint vandalisms.
Anyone interested in becoming involved in the neighborhood crime watch program is asked to contact Lt. Paul Saccoccia at 477-5031 or at psaccoccia@cranstonri.org to obtain more information. Residents are also asked to visit the department’s web-site at cranstonpolice.com for future informational updates.
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Sincerely,
Major Robert W. Ryan
Public Information Officer
(401) 477-5003
rryan2@cranstonri.org
CRANSTON POLICE AND THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE TASK FORCE PARTNER TO KEEP KIDS SAFE
The Cranston Police Training Division under the direction of Lt. Mark Freeborn in partnership with the Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force has scheduled a Child Identification safety session event to be held on Wednesday, August 4th at Garden City Center in the parking lot of the former Circuit City from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
This event will be the first safety session held since the Cranston Police Department acquired its new Child Identification system through funding provided by the Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force. The Child ID package includes a camera, fingerprint scanner, laptop computer, ID software and a card printer, all of which produce a professional looking identification card which is the same size as a credit card.
Each identification card, which will be provided for the parents free of charge, includes the child’s photograph and a fingerprint and contains vital data such as height, weight, eye color, hair color and the parent’s name. The Cranston Police Department views the “Child ID” Program as extremely important because the information included on each identification card is viewed as vital in the event a child becomes missing, lost or abducted.
This safety session is the first of several to be planned throughout the year and all updated information regarding future event dates, time and locations will be made available on the Cranston Police Department’s web-site which can be accessed at Cranston Police.com.
Sincerely,
Major Robert W. Ryan
Cranston Police Department
Public Information Officer
(401) 477-5003
rryan2@cranstonri.org
Cranston Police Announcement
As a service to our residents and the business community, Cranston Police are proud to announce a partnership with GetCrashReports.com to provide online access to all Cranston Rhode Island crash reports. All crash reports will be available 48 hours after the crash occurs (or sooner if approved) except for Fatal crashes and crashes under investigation. Fatal crash reports must be purchased at the Cranston Police Department.
As of June 16, 2010, all requests from businesses for Cranston Police crash reports will be referred to GetCrashReports.com. The Cranston Police will not provide crash reports to businesses after this date unless a specific crash report cannot be located on the GetCrashReports.com website, or is a walk in public records request.
This new service allows individual or multiple crash reports to be purchased with major credit cards or with a Pre-Paid account. To purchase a single crash report, go to www.GetCrashReports.com and follow the simple 5 step process. To purchase multiple reports at once, you must setup a Subscriber account with GetCrashReports.com. To setup a Subscriber account, click on "Subscriber Login" on GetCrashReports.com and click the "New Subscriber" link. A representative from GetCrashReports.com will contact you within 24 hours to setup an online account. As always, if you have any questions, please free to call upon us.
Until then, we remain respectfully in your service.
Colonel Marco Palombo Jr.
Cranston Police Department
401-942-2211
Child ID Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Major Robert W. Ryan
June 7, 2010
(401) 477-5003
The Cranston Police Department is pleased to announce that it has received a $6,000 grant award for the purchase of brand new, state of the art child identification equipment that will be vital to maintaining the agency’s “Child ID” program. The grant funding was obtained from The Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force, which is affiliated with the Comprehensive Community Action Program (CCAP) of Cranston after a unanimous vote from the board authorizing the grant award and purchase.
The Cranston Police Training Division, under the direction of Lt. Mark Freeborn, conducts numerous child safety sessions throughout the year where child identification cards are provided to parents. In addition to working co-sponsored community events with the Comprehensive Community Care Program, the Cranston Police also provide this valuable service at events such as YMCA Safety Day, URI Family Day, Girl Scout and Boy Scout Jamborees and other fairs and festivals throughout the city.
The “Child ID” package includes a camera, fingerprint scanner, laptop computer, ID software and a card printer. This new equipment will take the place of the department’s existing system which has begun to break down and has become obsolete. The department will now be able to keep up with the overwhelming demand and provide this valuable service more frequently and more efficiently, nearly tripling the output capability of the existing equipment.
Each identification card includes the child’s photograph and fingerprints and contains vital data such as height, weight, eye color, hair color and the parent’s name. The Cranston Police Department views the “Child ID” program as extremely important because the information included on each identification card is viewed as vital in the event a child becomes missing, lost or abducted.
The Cranston Police Training Division will be receiving the equipment within the next three weeks and plans on holding several child safety sessions throughout the summer and beyond. The Cranston Police Department is also looking forward to working with Dana Deverna, the coordinator of the Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force on future co-sponsored community events. The Cranston Police would also like to recognize the efforts of the Cranston Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association for their generous contributions to purchase supplies for the Child ID Program over the years as well as their willingness to volunteer their time and services to numerous child safety sessions. Each child safety session that is planned will be advertised locally and updated information will be made available on the Cranston Police Department’s web site.
Colonel Marco Palombo, Jr. stated, “On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, I would like to express my gratitude to CCAP for their generous award which will allow our department to maintain this very important program which is designed to provide for the safety of our children. This generous grant award is yet another testament to the dedication and commitment that CCAP provides for the community at large through a diverse spectrum of services.”
Joanne McGunagle, the Executive Director of CCAP added, “In Cranston we have been fortunate because we have had a unique and long standing ability to work together with the Police Department and we continue to look forward to doing whatever we can to help the citizens of Cranston.”
Mayor Fung commented,“This is a perfect example of different agencies collaborating for the good of the people. My thanks to CCAP and our fine Police Department for working together toward an even greater level of safety for the children of our community.”
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Sincerely,
Major Robert W. Ryan
Cranston Police Department
Public Information Officer
(401) 477-5003
(401) 413-8560
rryan2@cranstonri.org
Mock DUI Crash Demonstration
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Major Robert W. Ryan
June 21, 2010 (401) 477-5003
“MOCK” DWI TRAFFIC CRASH LEAVES “REAL” IMPRESSION ON STUDENTS
Nearly 300 juniors and seniors from Cranston High School West were assembled on the front lawn of the school on May 14th to witness the re-enactment of a serious drunk driving related accident and arrest in “real time”, from the point that first responders from the Fire and Police Departments were called until the seriously damaged vehicles were towed from the scene.
The DWI crash re-enactment was aimed at educating teens about the dangers of getting into a car while under the influence of drugs and or alcohol. The genesis of the program came when Cranston West teacher Barbara Simonelli, who was in charge of planning this year’s pre- prom assembly, approached Traffic Officer Alan Davis inquiring about the feasibility of producing a serious drunk driving crash scenario involving a student on prom night. As a result, the mock DWI accident was intentionally scheduled one week before the student’s proms to reinforce the inherent dangers associated with drinking and driving, especially among high school students during the prom season.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) statistics sadly show that between the months of May and July, there are more alcohol related, fatal car accidents involving young people between the ages of 15 and 20 than any other time of the year and it is the leading cause of death for that age group. In fact, according to a 2008 NHTSA study, among the 15 to 20 year old drivers involved in fatal crashes, 31% of the drivers who were killed had been drinking and 25% who were killed in crashes had a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher.
The students were witness to a realistic duplication of the actual events that occur directly after a serious motor vehicle accident and they were able to view for themselves the relevance of the “golden hour” which is the pivotal time frame after impact that generally determines if crash victims will live or die. The demonstration began with the audience awaiting the arrival of the police and fire departments, just after they were called to respond to front of the high school where two vehicles had already been placed in a serious crash scenario and the student audience was allowed to hear the calls and transmissions from both fire and police dispatch.
The police and fire arrived with emergency lights and sirens activated, in the normal amount of time it would have taken them if this were an actual motor vehicle accident. The students were then able to witness the response to a full drunk driving motor vehicle accident including the full police investigation and the fire department’s rendering of first aid and their use of the” jaws of life” to extricate victims, including one who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Perhaps the most compelling and defining moment for the students in attendance came when a parent rushed into the scene to attend one of the crash victims, only to be intercepted by emergency personnel who informed that her daughter had not survived the crash. Although this was a re-enactment; what the students did not realize, was that this “volunteer parent” was Cathy Andreozzi, a member of MADD (The Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and actually the mother of a child who was tragically injured as the result of a drunk driving accident that occurred 7 years ago when her daughter was only 12 years old.
After being intercepted by emergency personnel during what was an emotional portrayal of the immediate grief felt by any parent faced with such a tragedy, she was escorted to the podium where she addressed the students. During her address, she spoke of the tragedy with her daughter who survived the accident, but “had the life she had known taken away from her”, and how that has affected so many people and so many lives because of the choice made by one individual to drink and drive. Cathy Andreozzi initially told the students, “The life as you know it can change in a moment” and she concluded by stating, “there are going to be moments you want to relive; or… live to regret…choose wisely”.
Chief of Police Colonel Marco Palombo, Jr., stated that “the police department will remain committed to keeping our youth educated and informed about the dangers associated with drug and alcohol use and we will explore every option and approach available to us to meet those goals”.
The DWI crash re-enactment was filmed by the Cranston High School West Video Production class and edited for distribution by senior Adam Casale. There will be 150 copies made and 90 of them will be distributed to all of the Drivers Education Instructors throughout the state to be used as a part of their curriculum. Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung, who was also involved in the production of the Mock DWI program commented, “I am pleased that what we have done here in Cranston will be used statewide to help our teenagers get a better understanding of the dangers of driving while intoxicated. All of our communities need to utilize all of our resources and work together to continue to battle this issue”.
Dana Deverna, the Director of the Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force also participated in the program and from the podium, offered the services of her task force as a resource for teenagers to consider and utilize before making bad decisions. The Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force and the Cranston Police have partnered on several occasions with teen safety initiatives and in addition to working closely with the Department’s Traffic Division and Training Division, they also work very closely with the Department’s School Resource Officers.
In addition to providing funding for different teen safety programs, The Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force has also recently provided the funding for vehicles to be used by the School Resource officers and most recently, provided $6,000 for the purchase of brand new Child Identification equipment to be used at various children’s safety sessions. “The Cranston Police Department is truly indebted to Dana Deverna and the Substance Abuse Task Force, not solely because of the much needed funding they have supplied for programs and equipment, but because of their unwavering commitment to keeping the youth in our community safe.”
In addition to the video of the demonstration being distributed for statewide use in the driver’s education program, it is also being used to educate our younger students. Recent statistics show that teenagers are more inclined to experiment with drugs and or alcohol at an earlier age; therefore, it is important to target the younger students at the middle school and elementary school levels and educate them about the dangers associated with drugs and alcohol.
Officer Alan Davis, of the Cranston Police Traffic Division, which is supervised by Sergeant Karen Guilbeault, recently presented a traffic safety program which included the video of the mock DWI to 51 fifth graders at Orchard Farms School. The students were asked to provide written feedback on what they learned from the program, which stressed the dangers of driving while impaired and the importance of seat belt use. Despite their young age, the overwhelming majority of the students felt the demonstration was extremely worthwhile and left a lasting impression on them that would remind them to buckle up, to never drink and drive, or to get in a car with anyone who has been drinking.
At the high school level, the students who witnessed the mock DWI incident were asked to complete a questionnaire evaluating the program and the lessons learned. Of the 300 students in attendance, 247 of them responded to the survey and 76% stated that they understood the importance of seat belt use and were more likely to wear a seat belt and 84% stated that they were less likely to drink and drive after seeing the demonstration.
The demonstration was a complete success thanks to the collective efforts of the following agencies and individuals: School Superintendant Peter Nero and the Cranston School Administration, the Cranston Police and Fire Departments, the Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force, Mayor Allan Fung, Cranston Chief of Police, Colonel Marco Palombo, Cranston Fire Chief James Gumbley, the Rhode Island Chapter of MADD, the Rhode Island Office on Highway Safety, WPRI News Channel 12, Cranston West student volunteer Robert Davis, the City of Cranston Divisions of Highway Safety and Building Maintenance, Cranston Welding Supply, Michael Corrente Productions, Rhode Island Law Enforcement Liaison Colonel Richard Sullivan (retired) and Zincone’s Towing. “On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, we would like to thank all of those who participated in this program which was intended to send a strong message in order to educate and keep our youth safe”.
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Sincerely,
Major Robert W. Ryan
Cranston Police Department
Public Information Officer
(401) 477-5003
(401) 413-8560
rryan2@cranstonri.org
WPRI 12 Coverage of the Event
Victim's mother takes part in DUI drill
Students witness chilling reenactment of crash
Updated: Friday, 14 May 2010, 5:57 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 14 May 2010, 5:56 PM EDT
Darren Soens
Danielle North
CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) - The mother of a local drunk driving victim uses her own tragic experience to teach teens about the dangers of driving drunk.
On Friday, Cathy Andreozzi joined police and firefighters for a mock drunk driving crash outside Cranston High School West.
Andreozzi's daughter, Tori, was seriously injured in a hit and run crash caused by a drunk driver.
"I labored over the idea, 'Would people be uncomfortable knowing that I was a real victim mom?' But that's the point," said Andreozzi. "People should be uncomfortable because that discomfort they may have felt today is nothing compared to the real pain and hurt and loss that ensues when there's an alcohol-related tragedy."
Here is the scenario: It is a bloody scene outside the school. In the mangled wreckage of one car, a mock victim is dead on the scene.
In the other vehicle, two injured victims, one played by Eyewitness News reporter Danielle North, and the other by a high school freshman, wait for help.
"We wanted them to see it as it really happened," says Cranston Police Chief Marco Palombo. "The accident, how long it took for emergency personnel to arrive at the scene, the pain that the occupants suffered during that time as the fire personnel cut the roof off the car to get them out."
And as crews worked to rescue the injured, the mock victims were covered with blankets to protect them from shattered glass.
The "victims" were then put onto stretchers, as a woman screamed in the background.
That woman was Cathy Andreozzi, who hopes her presence would help drive home the message that drunk driving is no laughing matter.
"The choices that they make dictate the moments in their life. And there are no do-overs. No do-overs."
Cranston police are hoping the students who witnessed the reenactment will remember the chilling scene, before they head out for prom night this weekend.
Extra patrols will be on the streets, to try to ensure that this prom night is a safe one.