I-Team: Woman claims officers beat her
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I-Team: Woman Claims Police Beat Her
NBC 10's Jim Taricani reports.
NBC 10
Diane Mendes claims West Warwick police officers threw her to the floor and beat her for no good reason.
WEST WARWICK, R.I.—A West Warwick woman claims she was beaten by police for no good reason, and the chief of the West Warwick Police Department has launched an internal investigation.
Diane Mendes and her boyfriend, Lucan Dugas, said last Saturday night was a nightmare.
Mendes said West Warwick police broke down the basement door, ransacked the house, and then went upstairs and busted through another door where he and his girlfriend were sound asleep.
“I was home in my bed, raided by the West Warwick police station, thrown to the floor, beaten, bruised and scared out of my mind with shotguns pointed at my head,“ she said.
Mendes suffered bruises and said he has a sprained hand.
Mendes told NBC 10 that police never arrested her or read her Miranda rights.
Police said they were called to the house on Wilson Street at midnight after reports of an assault outside the house. When police arrived, they said about a dozen people were in and around the house.
Police said the assailant ran into the house, and a bystander told police to watch out.
“One of the people outside the house told the officers that he wanted them to be safe and that if they were to go in, then they need to know he saw a 9mm handgun in the house,“ said Chief Paul Villa of the West Warwick Police Department.
Villa said when police busted into Mendes’ bedroom, they didn’t find a gun. They found a pellet pistol in the basement.
Villa said before officers went into the house, a neighbor called police saying they heard a man and woman screaming inside the house. Villa said he wants to find out if his officers acted properly.
“Anytime we have these incidents happen, we do review them. We do take people’s rights very seriously here,“ he said.
Villa said he plans on interviewing Dugas and Mendes as part of the internal investigation, which he said could take several days before it’s completed.
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Reader Reactions
No self respecting male OR female would appear on camera with dirty hair, draped across their bed like they just got SHOT. (But to be fair, the WWPD DOES owe them (2) $8.95 “Scratch and Dent” imitation cardboard doors from Bargain Outlet though…)
I tip my hat to you paul giacobbe, I like what he wrote in the article on dec 18th about this woman.. He is right on the money when he said about it most troubled him when there was no indication why, a full four days after the incident that this alleged women still appeared to be so acutely distressed. Smells alittle fishy about that and I just hope justice gets served.
In all actuality, this story is missing a lot of info because the story was probably picked up off a local paper website or another news outlet. THEN Ch. 10 had a ‘reporter’ check it out and confirm it—and the only things that made it onto the website were those that were confirmed.
__________
In any event, this ‘couple’ aren’t representative of most parents. I’m not going to say that this was an isolated case, but these type ‘parents’ (if they even are!) are not as common as thought. Thank God!
Well, well. Just another piece of “Sensational Journalism”. Is it any wonder that newspapers and news reporters are becoming dinosaurs?
All you have to do is call and someone will show. Why worry about accurate reporting when all you have to do is print or play it. There are no consequences only ratings.
What happened to news reporting without an agenda?
Here is my insight on the topic and the real question shouldn’t be why this couple DID NOT hear the cops banging down the basement door. It should be why didn’t they hear twelve underage kids partying in and out around the house. Either they were to wasted to hear any of the noises or they were too wasted, knew about it, and didn’t care otherwise. I REALLY hope that this woman is not a parent because she is not an example of a responsible mother. What is this womans ulterior motive, suing the wwpd to support her drug habit?!
Mugzi, once she decided to call channel 10 news and advertise her issure, rather than filing a complaint and handling it in a classy and tactful manner, she opened herself up to all of this criticism.
My mother lives in that neighborhood, and I can say with complete confidence that this household is constantly flooded with teenagers at all times of the night, the police have been there numerous times over the past few years, and there are big pieces to this story that channel 10 has left out.
Couple of scumbags period!
I am right with you cookie91072! That was very well said. HOW EMBRASSING that video was, I don’t know how the two of them can show their face again. What an act!
cookie i have to say i loved your last line. i was lmao. about the crack.
oh my god! just seen the video on this and what poor ACTING , pleassee claiming the cops handcuffed her and beat her up :!!! heLLOO!! if you wasnt HIGH ON heroine or pills you wouldve heard the Seven cops who were knocking and calling and THEIR WAS a gun in the house HELLO !!! their job is too handcuff and take order for their safety !! and where are the bruises and then how PATHETIC her looser drug addict boyfriend supporting holding her for support !!—they both are just as bad actors as the balloon family they should hang with them oopss maybe not she’ll inhale all the helium !!! and when they show her laying down on the bed in the interview I almost threw up! come ON ! she is coming down from herioin they should give her some crack they recovered from the guy that shot the 3 detectives so she can wake up !!!
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