PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan has been placed on six months of unpaid leave following her arrest in Newport earlier this month, a case that drew national attention after police body camera footage showed her berating officers and repeatedly declaring, “I’m an AG!”
Flanagan, 34, was charged with willful trespass on August 14 after allegedly refusing to leave a restaurant on Bannister’s Wharf.
Attorney General Peter Neronha said he met with Flanagan on Monday to deliver the disciplinary action.
“Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan mistreated the Newport Police Department and embarrassed herself, the office, and frankly me,” Neronha said. “We hold our attorneys to the highest personal and professional standards, and Ms. Flanagan plainly did not meet those standards here.”
Neronha added that he hoped Flanagan would use the leave “to reflect on the seriousness of her conduct and make corrective changes in her life.”
Flanagan had already been on unpaid leave while the office reviewed the incident.
In addition, Neronha personally visited the Newport Police Department twice on Monday, once during the morning shift change and again in the afternoon, to apologize directly to all the officers involved.
Flanagan, who has worked in the AG’s office for seven years and most recently served in the Appellate Unit of the Criminal Division, earned $113,921 in the last fiscal year, according to state records.
She’s an attorney, working as an assistant AG. for the state of RI. She should be held to a higher standard. Her job as assistant AG should have been immediate termination. She held herself above the law for the entire country to watch. What an embarrassment for our state. 6mo suspension is a slap on the wrist.
She’s an attorney, working as an assistant AG. for the state of RI. She should be held to a higher standard. Her job as assistant AG should have been immediate termination. She held herself above the law for the entire country to watch. What an embarrassment for our state. 6mo suspension is a slap on the wrist.