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Despite drinking and driving and shooting an innocent teenager, a cop was let off

East Greenwich, RI — In July 2021, we reported a disturbing case of road rage involving off-duty Pawtucket police officer Daniel Dolan, who chased down 18-year-old Dominic Vincent and opened fire on him. Instead of facing immediate arrest for such an egregious act, Dolan hid behind his blue privilege. However, he was eventually charged with three counts of felony assault and one count of discharging a firearm in a crime of violence.

The incident began when Dolan, who had just left a liquor store after buying a six-pack and began drinking while driving, spotted Vincent's black Audi driving fast down the highway. Dolan assumed the vehicle was involved in a police chase, despite the absence of other police cars and any sign of evasion.

Vincent, along with two other teenagers, was simply heading to a pizza restaurant to pick up some food before going home to watch an NBA game. Little did they know that their evening would take a terrifying turn when Dolan, intoxicated and off-duty, decided to play the role of a vigilante cop.

The video we previously shared shows Dolan in a white pickup truck appearing to chase the black car. When Vincent pulls into the pizza place, Dolan tries to block him in before jumping from his truck. The off-duty cop then grabs something from his hip — presumably his badge — and chases down the black car as it attempts to escape.

As Vincent backed up, the raging lunatic chased after him before opening fire on a car full of innocent teenagers. Dolan claimed that he was showing his badge, so the teen should have stopped, yet he was in a personal vehicle, in plain clothes, drinking beer, and acting like a madman when trying to stop the teen. It was for these reasons that Vincent did not stop.

Predictably, Dolan claimed he was forced to fire the shot because he feared for his life, saying the Audi was going to run him over. However, the teens in the car tell a different story. “I heard my brother (Joseph) say, ‘Dominic, drive, we’re gonna die,’” Vincent Greco said. Dominic Vincent recalled Dolan telling him, “you’re about to get shot,” right before firing his weapon.

After speeding away, Vincent stopped to wrap a sweatshirt around his arm. Dolan then approached them again, questioning Vincent as if he was the one who committed a crime. “I’m like … why does it matter what I’m doing, like, you — you just shot me,” Vincent told police, according to a transcript of his interview with detectives, as reported by WPRI.

Fast forward to now and Dolan claimed self-defense at his trial. He was acquitted of all the criminal charges. Highlighting a severe problem in holding cops accountable is the fact that the Pawtucket Police Department has been trying to fire Dolan over the incident, but they must go through a hearing process under the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBOR). A panel of three police officers will ultimately decide Dolan’s punishment for the shooting and it will likely be no more than a 14-day suspension.