THE CARPIO CASE Activist group cites unfinished business BY IAN DONNIS

As the FBI concludes its investigation into the apprehension of Esteban Carpio, the suspect charged in the fatal shooting last month of Providence police Detective James L. Allen, the activist group Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE) has cited what it describes as three overlooked needs related to the situation.

In a statement, DARE said, "Dozens of residents have been calling the organization looking for possible solutions, concerned that many of the responses to this point have painted an incomplete picture. While community members consistently acknowledge and mourn the loss of life and tragedy on all sides (police and community), we are concerned that this concern is not reciprocated for the tragedies that our communities face . . .

"DARE members and staff, along with support from other community members, have taken time to assess the situation and look for solutions that address the root causes of the problems that have been brought to the forefront in the case of Esteban Carpio. The problems are in fact much more complicated than they may appear at first glance. We have identified three major issues that need attention not just in relation to this case, but on a system-wide level: mental health services, conditions in the prisons, and police brutality."

The Providence police did not respond to a request for comment on DARE’s statement. Colonel Dean Esserman has previously cited how Carpio jumped from a third-floor window at the police station, and resisted arrest when he was recaptured in downtown Providence, in indicating how the suspect’s injuries may be his own doing.

Meanwhile, Jay White, a spokesman in Boston for the FBI, says that in terms of the agency’s investigation into Carpio’s apprehension, "We’re just waiting for everything to be finalized now, and then DOJ [the US Department of Justice] will rule on it. We’re pretty close to finalizing that investigation." White declined to comment on DARE’s assertion that the FBI can not objectively investigate Carpio’s arrest since one of its agents was involved in apprehending him.

For its part, DARE says the case highlights a dire need for improved access to mental health screening and treatment. "Our communities need a mental health system that preserves people’s rights while providing the urgent treatment that people need," the group says. DARE also noted, as has been reported in the Phoenix (see "Mentally ill inmates get warehoused at the ACI," News, December 3, 2004), that Rhode Island’s prisons are filled with people whose crimes are symptoms of mental health problems, and that these inmates would be more appropriately treated in mental health facilities.

DARE asserts that questions about the conditions faced by Carpio in prison "are connected to the larger issue of overall treatment of prisoners by the [state] Department of Corrections." The group says it has received hundreds of complaints of abuses within the state’s prisons over recent years.

While Esserman has won credit for improving the police department in recent years, DARE also points to a history of brutality in the city in explaining skepticism among some community members about the circumstances of the Carpio case. It calls for fully funding the Providence External Review Authority, an outside watchdog group, as a way of bolstering public confidence.