Judge tells sides in shop raid to try settlement

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—A federal judge has ordered both sides in a civil case arising from a police raid on a Narragansett Indian smoke shop to try to reach a settlement before heading to trial.

Adam Jennings' ankle was broken in the July 14, 2003 raid at the shop on tribal land in Charlestown.

In 2005, a jury found that trooper Kenneth Jones used excessive force when he was trying to subdue Jennings, and awarded Jennings just over $300,000.

Jones appealed and U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres ordered a new trial, saying testimony from state police was more credible than that of Jennings and two other plaintiffs' witnesses.

The case was assigned to Chief U.S. District Judge Mary Lisi. She ordered both sides to enter settlement talks on Monday afternoon.

Both sides are far apart.

Jennings is asking for the same amount the jury awarded him three years ago. The state is offering nothing, said Michael Healey, spokesman for the attorney general's office.

"Our counteroffer is zero. That's where it stands," Healey told The Providence Journal, adding, "We believe (Jones') actions were appropriate and consistent with his training."

Jennings was one of seven tribe members who faced misdemeanor criminal charges after the raid on the smoke shop, which was selling cigarettes without collecting state taxes. A federal appeals court later ruled the shop was operating illegally.

Jennings was acquitted after a trial in Providence Superior Court.