The man killed during a hail of police gunfire on a highway in Providence was Joseph Santos, 32, Providence Police Chief Hugh T. Clements Jr. said at a news conference Friday.
Clements said officials believe that video captured of the incident shows police officers doing “exactly what we would want them to do in stopping an imminent and significant threat.”
Clements said that Santos, who was being chased by police, had been driving in “a very aggressive manner” and the vehicle was “being used as a weapon,” ramming at least one other car. The person inside that car was treated and released from the hospital.
Officers from both the Providence police and the Rhode Island State Police fired their guns more than 40 times, Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare said.
“Our sympathies go out to the Santos family as well,” said Pare. “This is very difficult.”
