RI State Police releases names of troopers involved in shooting

Colonel Ann C. Assumpico, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and
Director of the Department of Public Safety, today announced that the agency is in
the process of completing its investigation into two events that occurred last
Thursday, November 9, 2017: the theft of a State Police cruiser as well as an
officer-involved shooting. As a result, Colonel Assumpico is releasing the name of
the Trooper whose cruiser was stolen, as well as those of the four Troopers involved
in the shooting.

The Trooper whose cruiser was stolen is identified as:

Trooper Michael J. Doherty
12-year veteran
Assigned to the Uniform Bureau

The four troopers who fired their weapons in the officer-involved shooting are
identified as:

Detective Lieutenant Cynthia Trahan
20-year veteran
Assigned to the Detective Bureau

Corporal Scott R. Carlsten
20-year veteran
Assigned to the Uniform Bureau

Detective Corporal Herbert D. Tilson
12-year veteran
Assigned to the Detective Bureau

Trooper Garrett S. Hassett
6-year veteran
Assigned to the Uniform Bureau

The investigation showed that the four Troopers fired a total of 23 shots during the
incident. The four Troopers remain on administrative leave.

Colonel Assumpico stressed that the investigation into both incidents is continuing.
When completed, the Rhode Island State Police will turn over the results of the
investigation to the Office of the Attorney General as part of the ongoing
investigation.

The Colonel also noted that, as part of the investigation, the Rhode Island State
Police is reviewing its internal policies and protocols with regards to both
incidents. She noted that the agency recently underwent an intensive review of all
policies and procedures by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement
(CALEA) as part of a «gold-standard assessment,» in which the agency received the
highest level of accreditation. However, she said, the agency routinely reviews its
policies and protocols after any incident such as those that occurred last week.

In addition, Colonel Assumpico has taken the immediate step of ordering that
partitions be installed between the front and back seats of all marked Rhode Island
State Police cruisers as soon as possible to provide further protection for all
Troopers and the general public.