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A SPECIAL assistant attorney general’s friend who was arrested last week as damning body cam footage followed had “no prior run-ins” with police, leading to her belligerent behavior, according to her lawyer.
Veronica Hannan, alongside her friend, Rhode Island Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Hogan Flanagan, were cuffed as they allegedly trespassed at a restaurant in Newport last week.
“Perhaps that lack of experience is what caused her to be caught off guard by what you saw unfolding on the video police shared with the media,” Hannan’s attorney, John Grasso, told the New York Post.
Hogan Flanagan told police that they were “going to regret it” as she was put into the back of a police car.
“It was after all, fast and furious,” Grasso continued.
In the video, the officer attempted to get the two to leave the restaurant after they received a call for help to remove an “unwanted party,” according to WJAR.
“They want you to leave. Let’s just leave,” police told them.
“You’re trespassed and we got to leave now, unless you want to be in handcuffs.”
Hogan Flanagan then told the officer they were “not trespassing,” and asked that his bodycam be turned off.
“I want you to turn your bodycam off. Protocol is that you turn it off. It’s a citizen request that you turn it off.”
“You haven’t notified us that we’re trespassing.”
She told the officer repeatedly she was an “AG” as Hannan said “she’s a f*****g lawyer, so she knows.”
Hogan Flanagan was then handcuffed as she told the officer: “I’m an AG. I’m an AG,” as she was walked to the car.
“You’re gonna regret this,” she said as she was put in the backseat.
Hannan, meanwhile, was fighting with police as they attempted to cuff her.
“Get your f*****g hands off me,” she yelled.
She screamed as officers tried to put her into the car, using her feet to try to keep the door open.
Grasso, her lawyer, claimed that after Hannan paid the check, “s**t hit the fan,” according to the Post.
“Those handcuffs came out pretty quickly, police were putting their hands on her (and her husband), and from what I saw, nobody except for Veronica was trying to slow things down.”
“[She] is quite overwhelmed at the moment. This is not a typical experience for her.”
The attorney general’s office said that the prosecutor’s claims about bodycam policies don’t reflect the state’s rules, the Boston Globe reported.
They said they were reviewing the incident.
The Newport Police Department policy states that it is up to an officer whether or not the camera gets turned off.
Hogan Flanagan was charged with willful trespassing, while Hannan is facing charges of willful trespass, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.

