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Case Intel

• Bodycam video captures Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Hogan Flanagan telling Newport officers “I’m an AG” repeatedly as they remove her from Clarke Cooke House.
• Police reports say her companion, Veronica Hannan, slipped a cuff, screamed at officers, and resisted while a crowd formed on Bannister’s Wharf.
• The AG’s office says the incident is under review; policy experts note officers arenot required to honor a subject’s demand to shut off body-worn cameras.

By Samuel Lopez – USA Herald

When a state prosecutor invokes her title during an arrest—and an officer replies, “Good for you, I don’t give a s**t”—you’re watching a stress test of law, policy, and public trust play out on the sidewalk.

What the video shows

Newport police released body-worn camera footage of a Thursday night encounter outside the Clarke Cooke House on August 14. Officers responded at about 9:51 p.m. to a report of an “unwanted party.” In the video, Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Hogan Flanagan repeatedly asserts, “I’m an AG,” demands officers turn off their cameras, and warns, “You’re going to regret this,” as she’s placed in a cruiser. When she repeated that she was An AG (presumable expecting preferential treatment), one officer responds, “Good for you. I don’t give a s**t.”

USA Herald’s review of the footage likewise shows Flanagan insisting cameras be turned off—claiming it’s “protocol” on citizen request—before officers advise her and her friend to leave or face arrest.

What police say happened

According to narrative excerpts from the Newport Police report published by GoLocalProv, officers first tried verbal de-escalation and to usher the pair away. After continued refusal, they handcuffed Flanagan, who “repeatedly stated, ‘I’m an AG (Attorney General).’” During Hannan’s detention, she “tensed,” screamed “Get your [expletive] hands off me,” slipped one cuff due to “the petite size of her wrists,” and continued to resist as an onlooker crowd grew. At booking, an officer wrote that Flanagan was “extremely uncooperative… repeatedly stating her position as an AG and refusing to follow instructions.”

Local outlets also reported the restaurant’s representative asked officers to trespass the parties, with a host telling police, “Trespass, yes.” WJAR

Charges and status

Police charged Flanagan with willful trespass and issued a District Court summons. Hannan, 34, of Westport, Connecticut, was charged with willful trespass, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest and was brought to court for arraignment.

The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office confirmed Flanagan is a Special Assistant Attorney General (identified by police under her married name, Hogan), has been employed for roughly seven years, and that the office “immediately began a review of the incident.”

Do citizens (or prosecutors) get to demand police shut off bodycams?

Short answer: No. The Globe reports the AG’s spokesperson clarified that state policy permitting deactivation on request applies to victims and witnesses, not arrestees. Newport Police’s published body-worn camera policy states officers may choose whether to proceed when a member of the public objects, and “consent to record is not required.”

More broadly, Rhode Island’s BWC framework and similar departmental policies emphasize officer discretion and transparency; statewide materials reiterate that consent is not required and deactivation is narrowly cabined. dem.ri.gov

Why There’s No Public Intoxication Charge in Rhode Island

Here’s the part that may surprise readers: even though the bodycam shows both women plainly intoxicated, Rhode Island doesn’t criminalize mere public drunkenness. State law expressly prohibits the state or cities from making “being found in an intoxicated condition” an element of any criminal or civil offense, steering intoxication toward treatment rather than punishment. Justia Law Instead, officers can use protective custody for someone incapacitated by alcohol or proceed on conduct-based charges (e.g., trespass, disorderly conduct, resisting). That’s what happened here: Flanagan received a willful trespass summons, while Hannan was charged with trespass, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest—not “public intoxication.”

Professional Fallout: Ethics, Discipline, and Giglio Risk

From a career standpoint, the immediate risk isn’t the trespass summons so much as the optics and ethics overlay: the Attorney General’s office has already opened a personnel review, which can lead to anything from counseling to discipline depending on findings.

As a Rhode Island lawyer, any criminal act that reflects adversely on fitness or conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice can implicate Rule 8.4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, even if the offense is a misdemeanor, and public employees are separately bound to avoid the appearance of impropriety and not leverage their position for private advantage under the state Code of Ethics. courts.ri.govethics.ri.gov

Finally, if this episode results in findings that bear on credibility, the office may face Brady/Giglio disclosure questions in future cases (for example, if she were ever a witness or if disciplinary records are deemed impeachment material), a duty the DOJ and Supreme Court have made clear applies to exculpatory and impeachment evidence.

Why it matters

Public confidence in the justice system depends on even-handed policing and ethical conduct by those who enforce the law. Here, the footage shows patrol officers applying routine trespass procedures and declining to confer special treatment. The AG’s internal review signals the office is treating the matter as a personnel and conduct issue, not a policy referendum on body-camera use.

🛑 It should be noted that the assertions against Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Hogan Flanagan made in the criminal matter are merely allegations and have not been proven in a court of law.