CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Providence cop facing domestic abuse charge resigns

Providence Journal - 7/25/2018

July 25--PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A decorated officer accused of assaulting his girlfriend while off-duty in April has resigned from the Providence Police Department.

John "Joe" Black, 45, a detective in the intelligence unit, tendered his resignation "unconditionally and irrevocably" as of July 10, said Chief Hugh T. Clements Jr. Black had been on administrative duty since his arrest on April 23 on misdemeanor charges of domestic assault and refusing to relinquish the phone.

While Black's criminal case is pending, the department's internal affairs unit had conducted its own investigation, Clements said Wednesday. The department was prepared to take action under the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights, he said.

Instead, Black resigned, the chief said, adding "that was his choice to resign."

Black joined the Police Department in 2005.

He won numerous awards for arrests and narcotics investigations. He was one of the detectives working a wiretap investigation last year, called "Stop the Flow," that targeted trafficking of heroin and fentanyl from Providence to Southeastern Massachusetts.

He was also involved in "Operation Hubcap," an investigation in 2013 into drug-dealing at Kennedy Plaza. Black was one of three Providence officers who were shot and wounded by a suspect during a drug raid in 2009.

Then, in April, his fellow officers were called about a domestic disturbance at an apartment at 296 Atwells Ave., on Federal Hill. Black and Charlotte Wiseman, 26, had gotten into an argument while out at dinner that turned into a fight at her apartment, according to police.

Wiseman told police that Black wanted to collect his badge and gun, but she didn't want to let Black in. She said he assaulted her and tried to take her keys, and then grabbed her phone when she wanted to call 911, according to the report. The woman said she fought back -- scratching Black and giving him a black eye, according to the report. The woman also suffered an undisclosed injury.

Black, who is married, identified Wiseman as an "occasional romantic partner" and alleged in a sworn affidavit that she punched him after getting drunk and angry at dinner because he wanted to just be friends. He denied striking her.

The police charged Black. In turn, Black filed three charges of simple assault against Wiseman, which were dismissed.

Meanwhile, Black's criminal case is moving forward, with a pretrial conference scheduled on Friday.

___

(c)2018 The Providence Journal (Providence, R.I.)

Visit The Providence Journal (Providence, R.I.) at www.projo.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.