Providence police union seeks apology from Patriots’ Barmore after claim of racism

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Providence police union is seeking an apology for Patriots player Christian Barmore after he accused officers of racism during a traffic stop. 

“Last night, unfortunately, a member of the New England Patriots decided to publicly, on social media, falsely accuse officers of the Providence Police Department of unprofessionalism and racism. Such accusations are not taken lightly,” wrote the Providence Fraternal Order of Police in a statement.

Barmore was stopped by police for an expired registration in the area of Elmwood Avenue and Parkis Avenue.

Police said that Barmore had “an attitude towards police,” and when requested for proper paperwork for the vehicle, he handed it over in “an aggressive manner.”

“I just experienced for the first time five Providence cops being very unprofessional, racism at it’s finest,” Barmore said in a social media post, which he has now deleted.

In his response, Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said that the department takes public concerns “very seriously and with the utmost professionalism” but noted the officer followed protocol and regulations.

The union said they viewed the footage and available information about the incident, determining that the officers were involved in a proper traffic stop with an individual (now known as the Patriots player) who “was uncooperative, argumentative, and ultimately decided to escalate the situation and use loud inappropriate racial and threatening language towards the police officers.”

“At all times during this incident the officers acted professionally within the scope of the law, while conducting the vehicle stop for the violations stated by the officers in the video. In the end, the individual was issued only a lawful warranted citation and was permitted to leave the scene,” they stated.

“The situation would have and could have been nothing more than a routine traffic stop but not for the uncooperative and argumentative behavior of the driver towards the police officers, which ultimately escalated the atmosphere of the stop,” they said.

For these reasons, they said, they hope Barmore will publicly rescind his false accusations against Providence police and issue a public apology.