Elorza Fires Dancing Cop: Sides React
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Former "Dancing Cop" Tony Lepore, Sr. was fired from his annual holiday post in Providence on Tuesday by the Elorza Administration, after he had organized a boycott of Dunkin' Donuts following a worker writing "#blacklivesmatter" on a Providence Police officer's cup back in October.
Lepore had initially organized the boycott on October 6, but called it off after visiting the store location in protest -- but opponents to his return persisted with an online petition, as well as supporters who had their own.
"Our petition meant nothing," Lepore posted following being told by Commissioner Pare on Tuesday that he would not be rehired this year. "I told them both that they would get backlash from this, and they said they`re ready. Some people are political puppets. The don`t care about the men in the street. They care about the political agenda. This is the difference between men and mice."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTProvidence Mayor Jorge Elorza refused to comment on the situation on Tuesday, with his office instead providing the following statement from Pare.
"Mr. Lepore was informed today that the Providence Police Department will not continue to use his services. Recent statements made by Mr. Lepore gave the inaccurate impression that he represented the position of the Providence Police Department. Mr. Lepore was not authorized to speak on behalf of the Providence Police Department and his actions were, in my judgment, a disservice to the Department and to members of the Providence Community."
Lepore contested the assessment on Tuesday, while on the Buddy Cianci Show with the former Mayor, and GoLocal News Editor Kate Nagle.
"I wasn't talking for the police department," said Lepore, who said he represented "Citizens4Police". "I never had a uniform on during the boycott."
Community Reacts
"It's regrettable that Tony decided to interject himself into a situation that the Providence Police didn't want to escalate," said Jim Vincent with the NAACP Providence Branch. "They've been striving for better community police relations, and I applaud the police for doing that."
Vincent said he took affront for Lepore calling for the Dunkin' Donuts worker to be fired.
"Causing a child to lose her job? It was poor judgment," said Vincent of what he said was a seventeen year old. "It could have been handled differently between the officer and the child, but he created a national story that brought negative attention to the Providence police when they try to do the best job they can."
City Councilman Michael Correia, who has represented Manton and Mt. Pleasant in Ward 6 since 2010, said he was "shocked" to have learned the news.
"I was shocked when I saw it on Facebook on GoLocal," said Correia. "Right now we're facing a tough situation not only in the city, but throughout the country with the race issues. I mean, Tony's done well over the years, the city's been generous to him. Unfortunately, I feel that he made a bad decision without checking -- he doesn't have to -- but he made a bad decision creating serious issues in the city."
"The Black Lives Matter movement throughout the country sends a strong message everywhere. To me, all lives matter," said Correia. "I'm an elected official, to me all lives matter whether it's in the city or not. It's an unfortunate thing that happened with Tony, maybe next year he can come back. Right now I support the decision supported by the Commissioner."
Former Mayor Joseph Paolino said Tuesday afternoon that he hadn't heard the Administration's side, but that Lepore had always been part of the "fabric" of the city during the holidays.
"All I know is that in the past, [Lepore] was part of the celebration and tradition downtown," said Paolino.
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