Trial of Pawtucket police officer charged with shooting teen starts Tuesday

WARWICK – The trial of an off-duty Pawtucket police officer charged with shooting and wounding a teenager outside a West Greenwich pizzeria in 2021 without justification is scheduled to start Tuesday in Superior Court, Warwick.

Daniel Dolan, 40, faces three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and a fourth count of discharging a gun − his .40-caliber pistol − while in the commission of a crime.

In bringing the felony charges against Dolan at the time, Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said the officer’s actions were unjustified.

“Under the circumstances ... we believe there is probable cause a crime was committed,” Neronha said.

What happened during the shooting?

The shooting occurred on the evening of June 23, 2021, as Dolan, a school resource officer at Pawtucket’s Slater Middle School, was on his way home from work.

He was driving southbound on Route 95 when he followed a speeding car off the highway and into the parking lot of Wicked Good Pizza at 12 Nooseneck Hill Rd.

Recap of the case:Pawtucket police officer faces 4 felony charges in West Greenwich shooting

Dolan told investigators he followed the black Audi driven by Dominic Vincent, then 18, who was accompanied by two friends “because he thought it had been involved in a crime and he wanted to speak with the operator to prevent him from possibly injuring somebody,” according to court documents filed at the time.

State police investigators gathered video footage of Route 95 that captured both Vincent’s Audi and Dolan’s white Ford F-350 pickup as they passed Exit 6A that evening. Their analysis of the video put the estimated speed of Vincent’s Audi at about 125 mph.

In the pizzeria parking lot, Dolan attempted to block in the Audi, court records say. Video taken outside the pizzeria captured Dolan jumping out of his truck and confronting the Vincent while waving what looked like his badge in his hand.

More from Dolan's case:Lawyer for cop charged in shooting: He was trying to 'preserve life'

But Vincent and his two friends, there to pick up a pizza, told investigators they didn’t recognize Dolan, dressed in street clothes, as a police officer and saw the man who was screaming at them as a threat.

That’s when Vincent said he put the car in reverse and attempted to get away.

The next thing Vincent said he saw was Dolan holding a gun.

"So, at that point, like, your heart kind of stops. I’m like: OK, I want to get the hell out of here. So, he’s screaming, 'stop, stop’ and again, I think the badge is fake, so I put it in reverse," Vincent testified.

Vincent said nothing indicated the pickup truck was a police vehicle.

“And he screams, ‘You’re gonna get shot.’ And within a second, I didn't have an opportunity to like, even process. Obviously, if you tell somebody you’re gonna shoot 'em, and you want to give 'em a minute to like stop what they’re doing, you should wait,” he said.

Dolan told investigators he shot because he was afraid the car would strike him.

The .40 caliber round hit Vincent in the upper arm.

Dolan remains suspended without pay.

The trial will be heard before Superior Court Judge Luis M. Matos.

Contact Tom Mooney at: tmooney@providencejournal.com

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Pawtucket police officer Daniel Dolan's trial starts Tuesday in teen's shooting