Rhode Island prosecutor under review after warning ‘you’re gonna regret this’ during arrest

A R.I. assistant attorney general’s attempt to flex the power of her office while being arrested outside a restaurant for trespassing was caught on bodycam.

A Rhode Island prosecutor is under review after police body camera footage recorded her warning officers “you’re gonna regret this” while she was being arrested.

Devon Flanagan, a special assistant attorney general, was arrested outside a restaurant by Newport police Aug. 14 for trespassing, according to law enforcement.

Body camera footage provided by the police department shows Flanagan asking an officer multiple times to turn off his body camera and then repeatedly saying “I’m an AG.”

The footage shows the officers approaching someone from the restaurant and asking if “they want them trespassed.” The person clasps his hands and responds saying “Trespass, yeah. Cuff ‘em, please.”

When the officer says Flanagan and the individuals also with her are trespassing, the attorney says “We’re not trespassing, you haven’t notified us that we’re trespassing.”

“What did I just say to you? You’re trespassing,” says the officer, who is not identified in the video.

“I’m an AG. I’m an AG,” Flanagan later says.

“Good for you,” the officer says and then an expletive.

Eventually, Flanagan is put in a patrol vehicle and says, “Buddy, you’re gonna regret this. You’re gonna regret it.”

According to the Attorney General’s office, Flanagan has worked for the state’s top legal office for nearly seven years and is currently assigned to the criminal division’s appellate unit.

A spokesperson for the attorney general said the office was reviewing the incident and declined to comment further, citing personnel reasons.

During an interview with WPRO on Tuesday, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said Flanagan was “going to take some steps” to address the arrest, which include an apology to Newport police, but said no decision had been made regarding discipline.

“Look, she’s put me in a bad position. She’s embarrassed herself, humiliated herself, treated the Newport Police Department horribly,” Neronha said.

“I’ve got 110 lawyers. She embarrassed all of them, in a sense,” he added.

By Kimberlee Kruesi