Rhode Island police officer beat a woman in aabortion protestWhile he was off duty, he was suspended for a fee on Saturday while Providence police, accused of being, were conducting a criminal investigation into his actions.
Saturday morning, Rhode Island's political cooperation chairman and Democratic senator candidate Jennifer Luke, who is also a senator candidate, tweeted a video of the alleged assault.
"I amReproductive RightsOrganizer&Candidate State Senator. Last night, our Republican opposition Roe rally. After speaking at – police officers attacked me violently. This is a black woman running for office. I will not give up, ”she writes.
I am the organizer of reproductive rights&I am a candidate for the State Senate. After speaking at our Roe rally last night, a police officer who was an opponent of my Republican attacked me violently.
This is a black woman running for the office. i won't give up.pic.twitter.com/ZREDP2dvXY
— Jennifer Rourke (@ JenRourke29)June 25, 2022
Providence police confirmed on Saturday that Jean Lugo, who was vying for a Republican nomination for the same state Senate seat, was the officer in question.
"PPD is criminally investigating the behavior of off-duty officers during a protest against a woman being assaulted last night." Said earlier. Saturday. "The policeman has been working for three years, taking paid leave this morning, awaiting criminal investigation and administrative review."
Lugo wrote in the Providence Journal . "I'm not going to deny Punch's claim," he added, "everything happened very quickly."
"Unfortunately, as an officer who vowed to protect and serve our community, I realized that no one should see myself," he said. Said in an email to . The Boston Globe. "I intervened to protect someone a group of agitators were attacking."
Lugo did not immediately respond to the Associated Press's request for comment.
A video of the event posted online shows a woman, two other individuals involved in a physical quarrel in protest, apparently just before Roke was seen being beaten. I am. The video does not show what happened between Lugo and Rourke before Rourke hit.
"I'm a black woman running for the office," Rourke told the journal. "I didn't need it. I don't need this either. I'm not going to give up."
At noon on Saturday, Lugo tweeted that he would drop out of the race.
"I won't run for any office this fall," he said.
His Twitter account seems to have been deactivated shortly thereafter.
Mayor of Providence, Jorge Errolza, tweeted that he had watched the video and called it "extremely uneasy." "There is a limit to what can be said publicly," Elosa said, but added that "the person responsible is completely liable."
The abortion occurred during a protest on Friday outside the Rhode Island State House in Providence. This was in response to a decision by the US Supreme Court that overturned the Roe v. Wade case, and the 1973 constitutional abortion.
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