Rhode Island’s top prosecutor dropped the hammer Monday on one of his own, benching a special assistant attorney general for six months without pay after a drunken night in Newport turned into a viral bodycam fiasco.
Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Hogan Flanagan, 34, was arrested Aug. 14 outside the Clarke Cooke House on Bannister’s Wharf after cops said she refused to leave the restaurant despite being told 13 times. The body-worn video shows Flanagan repeatedly barking “I’m an AG!” and even warning officers, “You’re going to regret this,” before being cuffed.
Attorney General Peter Neronha didn’t mince words. “She mistreated the Newport Police Department and embarrassed herself, the office, and frankly me,” he said in a scorching statement. “We hold our attorneys to the highest personal and professional standards, and Ms. Flanagan plainly did not meet those standards here.”
Neronha said he personally met with Flanagan and informed her she’d be sidelined for half a year without pay. “I sincerely hope she takes this time to reflect on the seriousness of her conduct and makes corrective changes in her life. She has a long road ahead of her,” he added.
Flanagan, who works in the Appellate Unit of the Criminal Division and pulled in $113,921 last fiscal year, now faces charges of trespass, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.
The embarrassing bust made national headlines and turned the young prosecutor into Rhode Island’s latest cautionary tale: even the lawyers can’t lawyer their way out of handcuffs when they act above the law.
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