Rhode Island State Police announced Thursday that they have terminated two troopers after they shared a disturbing video of a deadly pedestrian crash on social media.
The troopers, both part of the 2024 academy class, were fired for violating division rules, regulations and policies, state police said.
“We are deeply disappointed that these recently hired Troopers displayed such poor judgment and lacked empathy for this family’s tragedy,” said Col. Darnell S. Weaver, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and Director of the Department of Public Safety.” These individuals are no longer employed by the state police, and we will not comment further as they are not employed by the Division.”
Video obtained by WJAR showed a traffic camera recording of 21-year-old Alex Montesino being struck and killed by a car while crossing Interstate 95 in Providence last October. The clip reportedly passed through the hands of at least two state troopers before it was shared on Snapchat. The video includes laughter in the background and an explicit caption, which sparked outrage from Montesino’s grieving family.
“It’s gut-wrenching and it’s really horrible,” Frank Vidal, Montesino’s uncle, told WJAR.
The family said the video dehumanized Montesino, turning his death into a social media meme. They said his twin sister even saw the video just moments before his funeral.
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