UPDATED

The Cranston police officer ran to the suspects’ car. She opened the door and ordered a man and a woman out of the vehicle. Instead, they sped away, allegedly running over the officer's foot, and the officer fired at the vehicle.

Cranston Police have released the name of the officer involved in a shooting last Sunday evening, as well as her body-worn camera footage from the incident. However, according to Cranston Police Chief Col. Michael J. Winquist, it may be several months (or more) before the multiple law enforcement agency investigation into the shooting concludes.

“Now that the multi-agency investigation into the officer-involved-shooting/use of deadly force by a Cranston Police Officer on (June 16) is substantially complete, the Officer’s body-worn camera footage is available,” Winquist said last week as police identified the “officer who discharged her weapon” as Officer Kayleigh Cooper, a three-year veteran of the department.

On Friday morning, June 21, the Cranston Herald requested and received a copy of the body-worn camera footage from the incident.

The Video

“Hey, shut the car off. Shut the car off,” Cooper shouted to the driver, as heard in the video footage. “Get out of the car.  Get out of the car.”

“What are you doing? What is this about?” The driver shouts back at Cooper. “Mam, you’re (expletive deleted). Mam get away from my car.”

The driver swore at the officer. The woman in the passenger seat told him to “drive, drive.”

Cooper shouted, “You’re going to run me over,” before firing her weapon as the vehicle sped off.

She radios, “211, shots fired,” and runs back to her cruiser.

While driving after the suspect, she tells dispatch that “he tried to run me over; I shot at his car.”

Suspect Apprehension

Rhode Island State Police (RISP) have now announced the Tuesday arrest of the couple that allegedly fled the scene.

RISP’s Violent Fugitive Task Force cooperated with Cranston Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, Massachusetts State Police and Boston Police to arrest a pair of Massachusetts residents they say were responsible for assaulting Cooper (by running over her foot during the escape).

According to RISP, Michael Campagna, 24, of 675 East Fourth St., South Boston, and Megan O’Brien, 24, of 501 Washington St., Apt. 417, Lynn, were bot arrested at JFK train station in Boston, “as fugitives wanted in Rhode Island on various charges relating to (the Cranston shooting incident).”

“These arrest stem from an investigation of a reported shoplifting at the Garden City Shopping Center … where both Campagna and O’Brien fled in a gray Kia,” according to RISP. “Shortly after fleeing, a Cranston Police Officer observed the suspect gray Kia stopped in traffic on Reservoir Avenue near the onramp to Route 10 in the City of Providence. When the Cranston officer approached the suspect gray Kia, opened the driver’s door, and ordered the operator, identified as Campagna to exit the vehicle, he sped away running over the officer’s foot. The Cranston Police officer then discharged their service weapon.”

According to RISP, once extradited to Rhode Island, Campagna and O’Brien will face a long list of charges.

Campagna, the vehicle driver, will be charged with Felony Assault and/or Battery, Assault on a Police Officer, Reckless Driving/Eluding Officer, Obstruction of an Officer in Execution of Duty, Resisting Arrest and Conspiracy, according to RISP.

O’Brien, the passenger in the car, will be charged with Felony Assault and/or Battery, Assault of a Police Officer, Aiding and Abetting (Assault on a Police Officer), Aiding and Abetting (Reckless Driving/Eluding) and Conspiracy, according to RISP.

On top of those charges, Cranston Police “hold active warrants” for O’Brien for felony shoplifting and Campagna for misdemeanor shoplifting.

Initial Incident

According to Cranston Police, around 5:16 p.m., Sunday, June 16, officers were called to investigate a “shoplifting offense” reported by a store employee at the Garden City Shopping Center.

About five minutes later, around 5:21 p.m., Cooper “observed the vehicle stopped in traffic at a red light on Reservoir Avenue, just south of the on-ramp to Route 10 in the city of Providence,” according to CPD.

Cooper then “approached the suspect vehicle on foot, opened the driver’s door, and ordered the occupants to exit,” according to CPD. The man driving the vehicle “refused the officer’s commands, while the female passenger told the driver to flee.”

Cranston Police said “the vehicle made contact with (Cooper) who discharged a single round from a duty weapon.”

Copoper was transported to Kent County Hospital and treated for injuries. She has since been released from the hospital.

When a Rhode Island police officer fires his or her weapon, protocol calls for a “multi-agency investigation.” According to CPD, this incident has been reviewed  by a “multi-agency investigative team comprised of members of the Cranston Police Department, Rhode Island State Police, Providence Police, and the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office.”

Investigation Pending

According to Brian Hodge, a spokesman for Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha, the police shooting investigation has not been closed.

“The multi-agency investigation is substantially complete for the purposes of releasing the body-worn camera footage,” Hodge said Friday. “However, the incident is still under investigation by our Office.”

In the past, Hodge has said that the AG’s Office usually does not comment on open police-involved shooting investigations.

Winquist said the multi-agency investigation into Cooper’s use of her department-issued weapon was “substantially complete.” He provided more context Friday evening.  

“Substantially complete, means the majority of witness(es) were interviewed, evidence has been collected and progress has been made in an investigation where releasing the video will not hinder the efforts of the multi-agency investigative team,” Winquist explained. “The Attorney General makes this determination in consultation with the (RISP) and other members of the investigative team. It does not infer that the investigation has concluded and a determination has been made that the use of force was reasonably objective. The Attorney General will review the investigation once it is complete and determine if the level of force was lawful, or present the facts to a grand jury who will make that decision. These investigations often take several months.”

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.