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Report: Assistant AG placed on unpaid leave for 6 months after altercation with Newport police

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PBN Staff

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08/25/2025

IN AN IMAGE taken from police body camera footage, Rhode Island Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan sits in a police cruiser following her arrest on Aug. 14. / NEWPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — IN AN IMAGE taken from police body camera footage, Rhode Island Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan sits in a police cruiser following her arrest on Aug. 14. Flanagan has been placed on unpaid leave for six months, according to WPRI-TV CBS 12. / NEWPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PROVIDENCE – The assistant attorney general who was recorded during an altercation with police outside a Newport restaurant on Aug. 14 is being placed on unpaid leave for six months, according to WPRI-TV CBS 12. Devon Flanagan, a special assistant attorney general, was arrested outside a restaurant by Newport police on Aug. 14 for trespassing

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PROVIDENCE – The assistant attorney general who was recorded during an altercation with police outside a Newport restaurant on Aug. 14 is being placed on unpaid leave for six months, according to WPRI-TV CBS 12. Devon Flanagan, a special assistant attorney general, was arrested outside a restaurant by Newport police on Aug. 14 for trespassing after refusing to move away from Clarke Cooke House on Bannister’s Wharf, according to law enforcement. Body camera footage provided by the police department, which has since gone viral on the internet, shows Flanagan asking an officer multiple times to turn off his body camera and then repeatedly saying, “I’m an AG.” After she is handcuffed and placed in a police cruiser, she warns the arresting officer, “You’re going to regret this.” According to WPRI, Attorney General Peter F. Neronha informed Flanagan on Monday of her punishment, though he did not use the word suspension when discussing the situation with her. “Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan mistreated the Newport Police Department and embarrassed herself, the office and frankly, me,” Neronha said in a statement. “We hold our attorneys to the highest personal and professional standards, and Ms. Flanagan plainly did not meet those standards here. “I sincerely hope she takes this time to reflect on the seriousness of her conduct and makes corrective changes in her life. She has a long road ahead of her, but I believe that in the long run, our worst moments can inspire us to become better people,” Neronha added. Flanagan was initially placed on unpaid leave on Aug 22. According to the attorney general’s office, Flanagan has worked for the state’s top legal office for nearly seven years and is assigned to the criminal division’s appellate unit, The Associated Press previously reported. The body camera footage shows the officers approaching someone from the restaurant and asking if “they want them trespassed.” The person clasped his hands and responded, “Trespass, yeah. Cuff ’em, please.” When the officer said Flanagan and the individuals with her are trespassing, Flanagan said, “We’re not trespassing, you haven’t notified us that we’re trespassing.” “What did I just say to you? You’re trespassing,” said the officer, who is not identified in the video. “I’m an AG. I’m an AG,” Flanagan later said. “Good for you,” the officer says with an expletive. Eventually, Flanagan is put in a patrol vehicle and said, “Buddy, you’re gonna regret this. You’re gonna regret it.” Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.