PAWTUCKET, R.I. — An officer acquitted after shooting a teenager while off-duty in 2021 and facing new charges of drunk-driving and threatening to shoot police officers will resign from the Pawtucket Police Department.
Daniel Dolan, 40, is resigning in the middle of the city’s attempt to fire him. He will get a $21,000 payout of his comp time and vacation, as required under state law, and the city has also agreed to pay a year of medical and dental insurance for his family, the mayor’s office said. His resignation is effective Nov. 30.
A spokeswoman for Mayor Donald Grebien said on Tuesday that the disciplinary proceedings under the state Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights began on Aug. 8 and were ongoing. The mayor opted for Dolan’s resignation settlement, rather than paying $60,000 to $80,000 for the Bill of Rights disciplinary trial with no guarantee that the board would find Dolan guilty and recommend firing him, said spokeswoman Grace Voll.
“The Mayor is pleased that we achieved the most important goal in all of this, which is ensuring that Daniel Dolan will never be employed with the Pawtucket Police Department again,” Voll said.
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However, the lawyer for the teen driver who Dolan shot was outraged at the city’s resignation deal, saying the payout “adds insult to injury” for his clients. Lawyer James P. Howe told the Globe that “any common sense LEOBOR panel” would have removed Dolan from his job.
“This is the further victimization of my clients and their families,” said Howe, who also represents two teen passengers also in the vehicle when Dolan opened fire. “To make a deal with him? What could it be? They are seeking to protect themselves from the type of liability from the civil complaint that will be filed shortly.”
Dolan’s lawyer, Michael J. Colucci, said that they worked with the city of Pawtucket “for a just and reasonable resolution of the pending termination proceedings.”
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“Dan Dolan has always lived by a strong sense of duty and honor, as displayed through his lengthy service as a Marine and a police officer,” Colucci said in a statement Tuesday morning. “Following the events of September 2 of this year, the LEOBOR case was no longer just about the shooting incident, for which he was fully vindicated by a jury.”
Colucci was referring to Dolan’s latest arrest in September, on charges of drunk-driving, reckless driving, and threatening to shoot Coventry police officers.
Dolan’s short career with the Pawtucket Police Department has been rocky. He’d been subject to complaints from the public, according to then-Councilwoman Melissa DaRosa, who said Dolan had been aggressive with her when she was a street worker.
Then in the summer of 2021, Dolan was charged with shooting a teen driver after a confrontation outside a pizza place in West Greenwich.
Dolan, who was off-duty and had an open container of beer in his truck, argued that he had pursued the teen and his friends after seeing them speeding on Route 95. The driver, Dominic Vincent, 18, of West Greenwich, and his two passengers, brothers Vincent Greco, 18, and Joseph Greco, 17, saw Dolan coming at them in the parking lot of Wicked Good Pizza and tried to drive away. Dolan claimed he wanted to have “a fatherly chat” and shot at them in self-defense. Vincent was hit in the upper arm.
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A jury acquitted Dolan in January of three counts of felony assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of discharging a firearm while committing an act of violence.
Meanwhile in 2022, Dolan was charged with domestic disorderly conduct and domestic vandalism after allegedly grabbing his 10-year-old son by the neck and throwing him outside, according to an affidavit by Coventry police supporting an arrest warrant. Then, while the children were in the car with his wife, Amy, Dolan was accused of throwing a toy truck at the vehicle and breaking the windshield, according to the affidavit. The domestic case against Dolan was dismissed about a week after it was filed, per court records.
Dolan is still facing charges from his arrest in September. He is scheduled to be arraigned on that case on Dec. 13 in Kent County Superior Court.
The article has been updated to include a statement from Dolan’s attorney Michael J. Colucci.
Amanda Milkovits can be reached at amanda.milkovits@globe.com. Follow her @AmandaMilkovits. Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado.