Providence Detective Killed With Own Gun
By ELIZABETH ZUCKERMAN
Associated Press Writer
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A police detective was killed with his own service weapon at department headquarters early Sunday while he was questioning a potential suspect in a stabbing, the police chief said.
James Allen, a 27-year veteran, was shot in the detective conference room while questioning Estenban Carpio, Chief Dean Esserman said.
Carpio, 26, who was not handcuffed, allegedly got hold of the officer's gun, shot Allen, broke a third floor window in an adjacent office and jumped onto a service road, Esserman said at a news conference. He was captured after a struggle a few blocks away.
Allen had been questioning Carpio about his possible connection to a stabbing attack Saturday on an 84-year-old woman, Esserman said. Carpio was not under arrest and had been taken out of handcuffs, he said. The woman was expected to recover.
The chief would not say how Carpio managed to get Allen's weapon, and would not discuss other details leading up to the shooting. Police would not say if there were witnesses.
"The investigation has begun and we will find answers, but not here this morning," he said.
He also would not discuss the protocols for carrying weapons inside police headquarters or for interviewing potential suspects. A gun believed to be Allen's was found below the window where Carpio allegedly escaped.
Security in government buildings has been a greater concern since early March, when a man in the middle of a rape retrial in Atlanta allegedly overpowered a court deputy and took her gun, then killed the judge presiding over his case and a court reporter. A deputy outside the courthouse also was killed, as was a federal customs agent whose pickup was stolen elsewhere in the area.
Allen, 50, who was married and had two daughters, was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time after the shooting.
"Jimmy Allen passed in the noblest way possible. He gave his life trying to make our lives safer," said Mayor David Cicilline. "He died a hero."
Police said Carpio was injured in his jump from the window, and was treated at a hospital for injuries to his leg, arm and head.
Visitors to the police building have been required to pass through a metal detector since last fall, when a man walked into the lobby with a loaded gun and told an officer he might hurt himself or someone else. Officers disarmed him and no one was hurt.
The last time a Providence police officer was killed was in January 2000, when Sgt. Cornel Young Jr., off duty and in civilian clothes, was killed by fellow officers who mistook him for a suspect when he ran to their aid during a disturbance outside a diner.