Drunk Rhode Island Prosecutor Put On Unpaid Leave

Via Fox News:

The Rhode Island assistant attorney general whose arrest went viral earlier this week after she seemingly tried to use her position to evade arrest, telling officers they'd "regret" putting her behind bars, will be placed on unpaid leave.

Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan, who was arrested for trespassing, was placed on paid leave after the incident while the Rhode Island Attorney General's office reviewed the matter. Starting Monday, Flanagan will go on unpaid leave, the office told Fox News Digital.

It is unclear how long Flanagan will remain on unpaid leave until a final determination is made on her employment. The attorney general's office did not respond to additional questions about its ongoing review of the matter or when it might make a final decision.

The orignal video from last weekend \went viral as a paradigmatic exemplar of entitlement, with more than a little whif of DEI. I worked for a utility where each category of putative victim had its own promotional silo. Women, African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians, and gays each had their own career ladder, and it was understood that every time there was a plum job opening, a member of one of those groups would be selected, an an implicit rotation.

Among those who were already climbing this ladder, the sense of entitlement was tangible. It seems as though some part of the population who saw this news clip came to an instinctive appreciation of what those two ladies represented: they were making their way up the DEI promotional silo, and the obligation of the world was to get out of their way.

Inevitably, the Rhode Island Attorney General, Flanagan's boss, found hinself on the hot seat, precisely because this was the impression everyone had of the episode. He hemmed and hawed:

In a subsequent radio interview after Flanagan's arrest, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha called it "inexcusable behavior" that will likely result in "strong, strong sanction[s]."

Strong, strong sanctions indeed. More likely not even a slap on the wrist. Half the office, at least, probably stood and applauded when she came in (late, of course) Monday morning. But there were peculiar undertones in the interview:

"I've got 110 lawyers. She embarrassed all of them. . . . It's just really hard to find and keep capable lawyers, and so I just have to think really carefully about this one. But no question there will be a strong, strong sanction here."

110 lawyers?? It isn't entirely clear what her job is; one story says she argues cases in front of the state supreme court. But the picture I get is a rabbit warren of office cubes, something like 110 of them, where the 80-20 rule applies, 20% of the people do 80% of the work, and Devon Flanagan is somewhere at the bottom of the 80% who spend the day goofing around.

Attorney General Neronha is thought to hold a safe Democrat seat, so his job isn't threatened no matter what he does in Flanagan's case. A reddit thread probably best sums up general reaction:

I really feel sorry for their husbands. I loved how they were just standing there and let all of this happen.

I have to imagine how the two dudes went to a bar after that show, drank a few beers and then after one or two maybe three hours got up like "well I guess we should get them from the police station now"

Someone replied,

I'm guessing it not the first time the husbands have been through this.

The consensus of the reddit thread seems to be that she'll spend some time on unpaid leave and come back after a week or two. A few commenters thought she looked awfully old for 34. That may be the biggest insight anyone has had. So it goes.