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Smoking is out at Hotel Providence ($$) 

The Hotel Providence this month became the latest to follow the industry trend to ban smoking in guest rooms. For the boutique hotel, it was a decision based on demand and the well-being of guests [..]

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• Council OKs disability plan for firefighters with cancer 

From now on, any Providence firefighter diagnosed with cancer will be presumed to have contracted the cancer on the job, and will be given a generous accidental disability pension, assuming they can prove that they do not smoke, use drugs or abuse alcohol, under a measure passed by the City Council last night. . . .

The fire chief and the firefighters union have made the case that firefighters are exposed to numerous carcinogens and have greater risk of developing blood, lung, lymphatic and skin cancer than the rest of the population. . . .

Firefighters would have to submit to annual physical exams administered by doctors hired by the city to prove that they do not use tobacco products, abuse alcohol or use illegal drugs, and sign affidavits stating that they have not used those substances.

Firefighters who use those substances now have a clean slate going forward, but will have to prove on their next annual physical that they are not using them anymore.

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• LETTER: Don Reese: A juror in the smoke-shop case  

Because I was there for every minute of testimony and because I participated in the jury deliberations, it seems absolutely clear to me that this verdict is far from an endorsement of the state police, Atty. Gen. Patrick Lynch and the governor. Only a very narrow view of the trial -- that any finding of guilt was a victory for the state, and only a not-guilty on every charge would have been a victory for the Narragansetts -- could possibly interpret the verdict as vindication for the state. . . .

given the events leading up to that day and the governor's subsequent behavior with regard to the smoke-shop raid, the trial, and the Narragansett Indians, I'm not holding my breath for the day when the tribe gets a fair shake from the governor.

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State and Narragansett tribe estimate cost of smoke-shop trial  

The criminal cases that grew from the state police raid on a Narragansett Indian smoke shop in July 2003 took almost five years to bring to trial at legal costs estimated in the tens and, for the tribe, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Though the charges were misdemeanors that typically entail little if any jail time, the cases represent something more to the parties involved: matters of principle.

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The Narragansett Indian smoke shop 

Documents: A look back

6.01.1978 The Narragansett Indian Land-Claim Settlement with the state of Rhode Island

7.12.2003 The state's search warrant

7.15.2003 Rhode Island State Police's press release on raid and arrests

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Bakst: Reflections on the verdicts in the Narragansett Indian smoke-shop trial 

The state police were understandably pleased with the outcome of the Narragansett Indian smoke-shop trial -- Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas and two others were convicted -- but this saga will continue to course through Rhode Island's history.

It is a history that, certainly from the tribe's point of view, has been marked by heartache. . . .

The state police were understandably pleased with the outcome of the Narragansett Indian smoke-shop trial -- Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas and two others were convicted -- but this saga will continue to course through Rhode Island's history.

It is a history that, certainly from the tribe's point of view, has been marked by heartache. . . .

Thomas came across yesterday as a bundle of resentment, irony, amusement and pure anger. At one point he asserted, "The people that have dealt with us really have not dealt truthfully and honestly."

On this 40th anniversary of the slaying of Martin Luther King Jr., Thomas said, "It's a shame that he was murdered for trying to win fairness and equality, huh?"

Does Thomas feel that he is in a foreign country when he's in the courthouse? "I'm in a foreign country any time I walk off our reservation," he chuckled.

As for the smoke-shop saga consuming so much of his life, Thomas said, "There's always something interesting in my life. My life is chief sachem of the Narragansett Indian tribe." Not a day goes by, he said, "where I don't have to fight for justice."

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Smoke-shop verdict: Chief says: 'I did what I had to do' 

Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas had little to say outside the courtroom late this afternoon after the jury returned its verdicts in the smoke-shop trial.

Thomas was found guilty of assaulting a state trooper, but cleared of two other charges, and his tribal members were cleared of most other charges.

"I think what happens, happens and we'll see what happens on the 28th," Thomas said, referring to the date Superior Court Judge Susan E. McGuirl set to hear motions.

Asked if he fears punishment, Thomas said, "No, no. I did what I had to do..."

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• The smoke-shop trial: A split decision  

A Superior Court jury found Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas and two other tribal members guilty of misdemeanor charges while clearing four others in an emotional case that pitted the state against its only federally recognized Indian tribe.

The jury of seven women and five men deliberated about 20 hours across four days before reaching a mixed verdict yesterday on 16 misdemeanor counts stemming from the 2003 state police raid on a tax-free smoke shop.

Although the jury found Thomas guilty of assaulting Sgt. Ernest C. Quarry by grabbing him from behind on the smoke-shop landing, they acquitted him of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

In addition, the jury convicted Tribal Councilman Hiawatha Brown of assaulting Trooper Ann Assumpico by slamming her arm in the shop door, and also of disorderly conduct. He was acquitted of resisting arrest. First Councilman Randy Noka was found guilty of disorderly conduct, while being cleared of resisting arrest.

Though found innocent of 12 counts, the Narragansetts remained bitter about the verdict and the six-week trial itself.

"I think everyone should have been acquitted," said Councilman John Brown, the tribe's medicine-man-in-training who was found not guilty of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Bella Noka took a particularly dark view, though cleared of assaulting a trooper, disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer trying to place her husband, Randy, under arrest. "They took our land, another life and now they want more," she said while leaving the courtroom. She repeated -- as heard during trial testimony -- that she was pregnant at the raid. She lost her baby afterward due to hemorrhaging, she said.

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Verdict mixed in Narragansett Indian smoke-shop raid case  

Four years and eight months after a Governor Carcieri-ordered raid on the Narragansett tribe's tax-free smoke shop turned into a tense clash between state troopers and Indians, a jury today cleared seven tribal members of 12 out of 16 misdemeanor charges.

But Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas, who was captured on video and in photos struggling with a trooper, was not among them.

He was found guilty of simple assault, while cleared of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Defendant Hiawatha Brown was found guilty of simple assault and disorderly conduct, and cleared of resisting arrest. Randy Noka was found guilty of disorderly conduct, but cleared of resisting arrest.

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Police not required to show search warrant right away 

Legal experts say authorities must show a search warrant at some point, or at least leave a copy of the warrant behind, but they say the police are not required to show a warrant at the outset of a raid, even if someone is demanding to see one.

Still, legal experts say it's a good idea to show a warrant at the beginning -- unless the police believe evidence is being destroyed or a situation is spiraling out of control, placing the police or other people in danger.

The issue arose during the trial of seven Narragansetts accused of resisting arrest and fighting with the police during a July 14, 2003, raid, which stopped the tribe from selling tax-free cigarettes from a roadside store on tribal land in Charlestown.

On Friday, a Superior Court jury returned 4 guilty verdicts and 12 not-guilty verdicts. Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas was found guilty of simple assault but not guilty of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest

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Jury begins deliberations in smoke shop case 

The cases against seven Narragansett Indians arrested during a state police raid on a tribal smoke shop are in the hands of a Superior Court jury.

Seven women and five men deliberated about four hours yesterday afternoon after receiving more than an hour of instructions from Judge Susan E. McGuirl.

“You are to make this decision based on the evidence and the facts,” McGuirl said. Race, sympathy, prejudice or compassion do not play any role, she said.

In all, jurors will weigh 17 misdemeanor counts against seven tribal members, including the tribe’s leader, Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas.

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Bill would ban tobacco sales at pharmacies that offer clinics 

The Rhode Island Medical Society is supporting legislation before the General Assembly that would ban the sale of cigarettes at pharmacies that also have walk-in clinics.

The doctors' group says it doesn't make sense to offer cigarettes and health care under the same roof.

Pharmacy operators say that while tobacco use is a huge public issue, restricting the sale of cigarettes in retail settings is not the way to address the problem.

They also say the bill could be a veiled attempt to keep retail-based clinics out of Rhode Island.

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Lit cigarette blamed for fire that seriously injured tenant 

PROVIDENCE -- A man who was critically burned in a house fire in the Smith Hill neighborhood late Sunday afternoon had been drinking alcohol and was smoking in bed when the fire began, the city fire marshal said yesterday.

"Whether he fell asleep smoking, or he just didn't realize he had dropped" his lit cigarette, an investigation shows that the cigarette caused the mattress of his bed to catch fire, according to Fire Marshal Anthony DiGiulio.

The victim, Rainer Randell, 41, of 132 Ruggles St., was in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Rhode Island Hospital

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Jurors tour site of smoke-shop raid  

CHARLESTOWN — Newly chosen jurors yesterday toured the site of the violent clash that took place in 2003 when the state police raided a Narragansett Indian tribal smoke shop.

Seven tribal members, including Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas, are being tried on misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, obstruction and assault.

A jury was selected yesterday morning after 3½ days of questioning about their views on issues ranging from smoking to the Narragansett Indian tribe’s casino quest.

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Trial over raid on tribal smoke shop begins today 

Newly selected jurors in the Narragansett Indian smoke shop trial toured the site of the violent skirmish Thursday afternoon, viewing the vacant trailer off South County Trail that stirred a fight over land and sovereign rights. (Portions of an Associated Press report were used in this story.)

The racially diverse jury -- which traveled in a bus with prosecutors, defense attorneys, Superior Court Associate Judge Susan E. McGuirl and the seven defendants -- spent about 15 minutes surveying the property, as lawyers directed their attention to locations that will be referred to on video, in photographs and in testimony during the coming weeks.

Earlier in the day, attorneys agreed on the makeup of a 10-woman, six-man jury, following several days of deliberations. Four of the potential jurors who toured the smoke shop site will serve as alternates.

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