North Providence chief OK with being out of loop

Published May 7, 2010 at 10:17 p.m.

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Police Chief John Whiting admits he was taken aback Friday when he saw a news photo showing his Providence counterpart, Col. Dean Esserman, standing behind U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha at a news conference on the corruption charges being brought against three North Providence councilmen.

"What's he doing there?" Whiting says he said to himself after seeing the photo in Thursday's Journal.

Whiting, who wasn't at the news conference, says he became more concerned a few hours later when, after attending a court sentencing, he heard there had been chatter on the radio that the feds must have excluded North Providence police because they must be involved in the corruption, too.

"Their comments were wrong, but they were feeding into the perception that the police department in North Providence is not to be trusted," said Whiting, who said he could not allow an attack on the integrity of his department to go unchallenged.

On Friday, Whiting called talk radio host Dan Yorke to say that if that was the implication people were going to draw, then the U.S. Attorney was "wrong not to invite us."

Later Friday, Whiting talked to Neronha's spokesman, Jim Martin, and received what he says was a reasonable explanation as to why Esserman was seen standing behind the Neronha.

Neronha told The Journal that Esserman was just one of many agency heads who were invited to the press conference because their agencies provide support to the FBI Task Force. North Providence isn't a member of the task force, but Providence is, providing one detective to work with the force. In deciding who to represent Providence police, Esserman chose himself.

This was the same explanation Martin gave to Whiting.

"I do not have a problem with the U.S. attorney's office, or their method of communication, or not being included in the press conference," Whiting said after talking to Martin. "I do have a problem with people's perceptions."

As for his department seemingly being left out of the loop while federal agents were conducting the investigation, Whiting said he has no problem with that either...As a veteran police officer himself, "I know that most of the time, the less people know about an investigation the better."

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