AG says Tiverton officers were justified in shooting suspect

Posted 8/29/18

The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office has concluded that a Tiverton police officer acted appropriately when shooting an intoxicated man who was wielding a rifle inside his home on April …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


AG says Tiverton officers were justified in shooting suspect

Posted

The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office has concluded that a Tiverton police officer acted appropriately when shooting an intoxicated man who was wielding a rifle inside his home on April 4.

Attorney General Peter Kilmartin said the officer’s actions were justified under the circumstances. Said Mr. Kilmartin, “The Tiverton Police Department relied on their training to de-escalate an extremely volatile situation and stop an individual with a loaded firearm who later admitted would try to make the incident a ‘suicide by cop thing.’

“There are no routine calls for police officers.  Each time police officers are called to a scene, they face a great level of uncertainty and danger. In most cases, an officer has very little, if any, information when he or she answers a call, and a situation can become dangerous within seconds, as this incident did.  Thankfully, neither the officers nor the victim were injured, and that is owed to the excellent work by the Tiverton Police Department.”

The incident began April 4, at around 11 p.m., when Scott Banville and his wife, Marie Banville, were arguing over financial issues. According to the attorney general’s reported, Mr. Banville had consumed at least six beers leading up to the argument and became upset after reading a text on his wife’s phone.

During the argument, according to the report, he threatened to kill himself and got his rife from their bedroom, loaded a .50-caliber CVA muzzle loader, and tired to walk outside. Mrs. Banville intervened, grabbed the barrel of the rifle, and began struggling with him.

Twice during the argument, Mrs. Banville tried unsuccessfully to call 911, though she was able to cal both her own mother and her mother-in-law in and effort to calm him down.

At one point, she asked her mother to call 911, but the mother apparently called Mrs. Banville’s sister, Kristine Sanchez, in New Jersey. 

After speaking with her sister, Ms. Sanchez immediately contacted the Tiverton Police and requested assistance for her sister.

Throughout this time, Mr. and Mrs. Banville continued to struggle for control of the gun, according to the report.

Tiverton dispatched several vehicles to 222 Pelletier Lane for a report of “husband drew gun on wife.” When they approached the house, they heard the argument and saw both of them still holding onto the rifle. The officers set up a perimeter around the house, with several near the front door, while Lt. Scott Beaulieu took a position near a picture window at the front of the house.

The officers were telling Mr. Banville to drop the gun, but he continued to struggle for control of the gun with his wife. His hand was reportedly close to the trigger, while she was holding the barrel.

According to the report, Mr. Banville began to point the gun’s barrel toward the front door and windows. That’s when Lt. Beaulieu fired two shots, through the window, and struck Mr. Banville in the right shoulder.

Mr. Banville was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, and no one else was injured during the incident. Interviewed the next day, Mr. Banville reportedly admitted to drinking, getting the gun with the intention of hurting himself, being aware the police were on the scene, and trying to aim the rifle toward the officers. He was charged with felony domestic assault and domestic disorderly conduct.

The report, written by Assistant Attorney General John E. Sullivan III, concluded that the use of deadly force was lawful under Rhode Island law, and that the Tiverton officers had probably cause to believe Mr. Banville posed a significant danger to the officers and himself.

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.