NORTH SMITHFIELD – Burrillville Police Col. Stephen Lynch and Providence Police Colonel Oscar L. Perez have released body camera footage from the September 15 pursuit and officer-involved shooting of Glocester resident Michael Pinto on Route 146 in North Smithfield.
Pinto, 40, later died following a second officer involved shooting in Providence.
According to police, Pinto had evaded police in Glocester the previous day before leading officers on a second chase Friday, Sept. 15 with his teenage daughter in the vehicle. He was found by Sgt. Henry Yakey, and Patrolmen Bret Simas and Lucas Pontbriant, stuck in traffic near the Anchor Subaru dealership on Route 146 south, and the Burrillville officers attempted to box him in with their vehicles.
In video taken from all three officers’ cameras published below, Yakey fires two rounds into the car. NRI NOW has edited the more than 20 minute chase shared by police to show clips of the shooting.
Pinto was shot in Providence after allegedly hitting a nurse outside of Women & Infant’s Hospital with his vehicle. He was transported to Rhode Island Hospital, where he later died. His daughter was treated for a shot wound after a bullet hit her leg.
Video from body cameras worn by the two Providence officers follows below those provided by Burrillville police.
Lynch and Perez noted that the incident remains under active investigation, consistent with the Office of the Attorney General’s Use of Deadly Force Protocol, as a joint investigation by the Rhode Island State Police, Burrillville Police, Providence Police, and the Attorney General’s Office.
“Further information will be provided in a timely manner upon completion of the investigation,” Perez said in a statement.
Editor’s note: The below videos contain explicit language and images that may be disturbing to some viewers.
NRI NOW may edit this breaking news story to include additional information.
The pursuit the day before the shooting: https://youtu.be/e_DcRqMND-w