A Rhode Island police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave while authorities investigate the use of a "less lethal device" that sent a man to the hospital during an outbreak of violence in Providence a week ago.
The officer involved is a 13-year veteran of the Providence police department, according to an emailed statement late Monday from department spokeswomen Lindsay Lague.
"We confirm that this investigation involves the use of a less lethal device," the statement said. No additional details were provided.
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An adult male is being treated at Rhode Island Hospital the statement said.
No names were released.
Several hundred people gathered outside the Providence Place mall on June 1 and in the predawn hours of June 2 went on a destructive rampage, breaking into the mall, smashing storefronts and burning a police cruiser.
The commander of the Rhode Island State Police has said that the vandals were not protesting the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by Minneapolis police last month, but were a "mob" seeking to cause destruction.
Nearly 70 people were arrested and about 10 police officers were injured during the mayhem.
