A Black man in Rhode Island spent over a month in jail for a crime he never committed. Now, after a civil lawsuit was filed on his behalf, Mack Blackie will get the payout he deserves.
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It all started when someone broke into the apartment of William Grover and Veronica Higbie back in 2022, according to WPRI. When police arrived to the scene, the perp had already fled, but Grover was able to get a decent look at him. He told cops he recognized the suspect and said he went by the name “Black.”
Then-Detective Timothy Hammond followed up as protocol states, asking Grover repeatedly if Blackie, a homeless Black man in the area, was the same man Grover recognized who broke into his home. But even after Grover told investigators Blackie was not their guy, somehow, he remained a prime suspect.
As described by Grover, Black was taller and slimmer than Blackie, who was described as husky with “better teeth” than the suspect, according to the complaint. Detective Hammond failed to schedule a photo line-up for Grover to identify the suspect. Instead, police arrested Blackie and sent him to jail.
Blackie was standing outside of a library when cops picked him up. After spending a night in jail, Blackie collapsed in court due to alcohol withdrawal. He was soon taken to the hospital and released. The 35-year-old got sober and started looking for a job and place to stay, according to R.I. Public Radio.
Months later, things were looking up for the former truck driver who fell on hard times during the COVID-19 pandemic. But that’s when Blackie was arrested for the second time in connection to the break-in. He was formally charged with felony breaking and entering and assault. Blackie was then sent to the Adult Correctional Institutions where he remained because he couldn’t afford to pay $100 on his $1,000 surety bail, R.I. Public Radio reported. His caseworker raised enough money for his release the day before Thanksgiving.
In total, Blackie spent 31 days behind bars. It wasn’t until a court hearing in February 2023 that Grover and his wife realized the cops had the wrong guy. “That’s not him,” Higbie said in court. “If they had showed me pictures of the young man right here, I would have definitely, like, known that’s not him.”
She continued, “I am so sorry, honey. I am so sorry. This was never you.” The charges against Blackie were dropped that same day and Officer Hammond was suspended and demoted to patrol officer, according to WPRI.
“What they did to me, that wasn’t right,’’ Blackie said. “That was wrong.” In October 2024, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Rhode Island filed a lawsuit against the city and officer Hammond on Blackie’s behalf. Now, they’ve reached a settlement for $550,000.
“I hope that this case settlement will help to bring about some sort of change so that incidents like this never happen to anyone again,” Blackie’s attorney Joshua Xavier said. “Not only to people who look like Mr. Blackie and myself, but to everybody in our society.”
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