Providence Man Smashes Cruiser Window, Arrested for Vandalism

WARWICK, RI — Warwick Police arrested a Providence man Nov. 13 at 1:47 p.m. after charging him with disorderly conduct adding a vandalism charge to the list after he smashed the rear passenger window of a cruiser he was sitting in.

Officers Rose Michel and another officer were dispatched to Kent County Memorial Hospital to assist hospital security with a disorderly person, later identified as Brian Fritsche, according to Michel’s report.

Hospital security guards informed the officers that Fritsche had been transported to the emergency room after a crash in Coventry. Fritsche had been discharged from the hospital but had been refusing to leave until his cell phone was returned to him.

Eventually, the officers were able to convince Fritsche to leave, and Michel offered to contact Coventry Police to return his phone to him. Michel told him he was not under arrest, but asked him to wait in her cruiser.

Michel was able to arrange for a Coventry officer to bring Fritsche’s phone to him at the hospital, but while waiting in the cruiser, Fritsche asked to smoke and became upset when told not to smoke in the vehicle.

Fritsche smashed the rear passenger window of the cruiser. He apologized, according to Michel’s report.

Michel arrested Fritsche, charging him with vandalism, and transported him to Warwick Police headquarters, where he was processed an released with a district court summons.