Officials speak on former officer Dolan’s resignation ahead of LEOBOR conclusion

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — Former Pawtucket police officer Daniel Dolan was on paid leave before officially resigning Tuesday.

The city has been taking steps to fire him, but Dolan was protected by the Law Enforcement Officer’s Bill of Rights, also known as LEOBOR.

“We felt very strongly that we would win the case under LEOBOR, but there was no definitive answer because LEOBOR is very strict with their guideline,” said Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien.

Dolan had LEOBOR disciplinary hearings set through next month. His trial began back in August.

Dolan was found not guilty after he was charged with assault in the off-duty shooting of a teenager in West Greenwich in 2021.

Most recently, Dolan was arrested in Coventry this past September. He’s now charged with threatening police officers and suspected DUI.

The city of Pawtucket released a statement Tuesday that reads, in part, “With the LEOBOR trial set to resume shortly, Dolan opted to voluntarily submit his irrevocable resignation of employment, thus avoiding further costly and inherently uncertain LEOBOR litigation, and purging Dolan from the otherwise proud ranks of the Pawtucket police department with finality.”

Grebien, who has been moving to terminate Dolan, also weighed in on the resignation.

“It is with mixed emotions- we are relieved because, we finally have a problem child if you will, off the police department, so we have that finality. It is with mixed emotion, on the other side, you never want to have to terminate anybody, but there have been some bad choices made. We are at the end of the road. We did the right thing for the citizens of Pawtucket by protecting them and the right thing for the police department,” Grebien said.

Black Lives Matter of Rhode Island PAC also added their concerns with LEOBOR, saying in part, “This poses a significant challenge to accountability and justice within the law enforcement community.”

ABC 6 News reached out to Dolan’s attorney for comment and has not yet heard back.