Jury sides with controversial Providence officer accused of assaulting Boston men
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Providence police officer Matthew Sheridan, who's been repeatedly accused of beating up suspects, earned a victory Friday when a jury ruled he didn't violate the civil rights of two Boston men during an arrest in 2016.
The decision concluded a five-day trial examining whether Sheridan used excessive force and assaulted the two men, Abel Sanchez and Nelson Santiago, outside of a Providence nightclub in November 2016.
Sheridan declined to comment on the verdict outside Rhode Island U.S. District Court. His attorney, Michael Colucci, said, "We're just glad that it's behind us now,"
Sanchez and Santiago also declined to comment. Their attorney, Albert Medici, said they were disappointed but that "the jury spoke and I respect their decision."
"They're upset obviously," he said. "But they can close this chapter in their life and move on now."
Sanchez and Santiago unsuccessfully argued in court they were violently abused by Sheridan after visiting a Providence nightclub for a friend's birthday in November 2016.
Outside the club, the men said Sheridan approached their rented BMW where they were disagreeing over who would sit in the front seat on the trip back to Boston.
Testimony and reports showed Sheridan tried to usher Sanchez to the backseat before words were exchanged and the officer brought Sanchez to the ground. Santiago exited the car and was also brought to the ground, according to court records. Other officers got involved and the men were arrested.
Photos and medical records show scrapes and cuts on the right side of Sanchez's face where he was pushed into the parking lot pavement. Sanchez also said he had to wear a sling afterward because of a shoulder injury. Santiago was treated at the hospital for a fractured ankle.
The criminal charges against the men were ultimately tossed out in Providence District Court, and Sanchez and Santiago subsequently filed the federal civil rights lawsuit against Sheridan and Providence. (Providence was later dismissed from the case.) The men were seeking a combined $2.3 million in damages.
One of the jurors openly wept and shook her head when the forewoman delivered the verdict.
Sheridan's attorney Michael Colucci successfully convinced the jury that Sheridan was following police protocol the night he arrested the men and that his force was justified given the circumstances.
He downplayed the men's injuries, saying Sanchez's face scrapes were common for someone detained on the ground, and it wasn't clear -- either to Santiago, or in medical records -- how Santiago's ankle was fractured.
Colucci also accused Sanchez of lying about different aspects of the case and that Santiago "went along with the lies and deceits of Sanchez."
Medici unsuccessfully argued there was no reason Sheridan should have involved himself with the men that night. He also said someone who's not breaking the law shouldn't reasonably expect to be beaten by a police officer and end up in jail or the hospital.
"The guy has a hair trigger," Medici said during closing arguments. "If you don't do what he says when he says, he goes on attack."
'To be sued means nothing'
Beyond the incident with Sanchez and Santiago, the trial highlighted some of Sheridan's professional history that's riddled with excessive force allegations.
The officer has been a defendant in four federal civil rights lawsuits since 2017, according to court records.
U.S. District Chief Judge John McConnell allowed the jury to see some evidence from a prior case after Sheridan took the stand and said, "I don't assault people."
Jurors saw video captured inside a Providence nightclub in 2015 where Sheridan was ushering out partygoers who were still there after closing hours.
The video shows a man, who's since been identified as Esmelin Fajardo, apparently unwilling to exit. His defiance spurred Sheridan to grab him and violently shove him to the ground. The officer then repeatedly swung his arms at the man before he stepped back and pepper sprayed Fejardo multiple times.
The video shows Fajardo falling backward and cowering before Sheridan stepped forward, pulled back and punched.
WATCH: Video evidence in prior Matthew Sheridan case (story continues below video)
“I just thought I was going to die that moment,” Fajardo told Target 12 in 2018, adding that he was just trying to tell Sheridan he worked at the nightclub. “I thought I was going to lose my life.”
Colucci disputed the video on Thursday, showing the jury the footage in slow-motion and arguing Sheridan only pushed Fajardo down because he feared the man was making and fist and was going to attack him. On the stand, Sheridan acknowledged he didn't know until later that Fajardo doesn't have fingers on one hand.
Colucci also said Sheridan swung at Fajardo with open fists in line with police rules because he was trying to apprehend and arrest Fajardo, who was kicking Sheridan after being taken down.
"I was trying to grab the suspect to gain control and effectuate an arrest," Sheridan said Thursday.
Fajardo filed his own civil rights lawsuit against Sheridan and the city in 2018. The case was heading to trial last March before it was settled for $16,000 in August.
In 2017, Charm Howie filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Sheridan. Howie, who attended the Providence police academy with Sheridan, accused the officer of verbally abusing him outside his home, pushing him into his car and choking him.
At the time, Howie's attorney criticized Sheridan and his nighttime crew of white officers that patrolled South Providence, calling them the "third-shift terror squad."
"They're terrorizing the city," Howie, a Black man, told the Associated Press at the time. All of the men who have filed civil rights lawsuits against Sheridan are people of color.
The Howie case was set to go to trial in November 2023 before it was settled for $42,500.
In 2019, Christopher Johnson filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Sheridan, accusing the officer of unlawfully stopping him in 2016 while he was walking home in South Providence after going out with friends.
"Johnson went out to hear music with friends, never expecting that he would spend the night in jail," his attorney wrote in the complaint.
Johnson, who was a Rhode Island state poet laureate finalist at the time, said Sheridan asked him for his name without reason. And when he refused to provide it, Sheridan grabbed him by the arm and slammed him against the police cruiser so hard it "dented the rear passenger side door," according to court records.
Johnson was arrested and charged with simple assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. A year later, the charges were tossed out "for a lack of evidence," according to court records.
The next hearing in Johnson's civil rights case is scheduled for next month.
Colucci on Friday downplayed Sheridan's history with civil-rights lawsuits. He said the settlements were "nuisance value settlements," meaning they were "financially not much."
"To be sued means nothing," Colucci said. "Three of the four have been disposed and we have one more to go."
Eli Sherman ([email protected]) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook.
Tim White ([email protected]) is Target 12 managing editor and chief investigative reporter and host of Newsmakers for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.
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