North Smithfield Police Officer Claims Discrimination In Lawsuit Against Town

NORTH SMITHFIELD, RI — A North Smithfield police officer claimed in a lawsuit the town discriminated against him due to his diagnosis and treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Nicholas Tomasetti, a Lincoln resident and eight-year veteran of the department, suffered PTSD after responding to a May 2022 suicide call that involved his "writing the report and taking detailed pictures of the victim, who had hung himself in a shed," the lawsuit said.

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"Immediately after this event, (Tomasetti) experienced difficulties sleeping, eating, maintaining his weight, thinking, concentrating, working, maintaining relationships and social life, and daily self-care due to symptoms like emotional dysregulation, sleep disturbances and/or nightmares, memory problems, and feelings of detachment," the suit said.

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Tomasetti was diagnosed with PTSD and underwent therapy, according to the lawsuit.

Tomasetti's therapist "concluded (he) was no longer displaying symptoms of PTSD and prepared a letter to (his employer) stating he was fit to return to duty as of March 3, 2023," the lawsuit said, but the town "refused to accept (the therapist's) letter or to reinstate (Tomasetti) to his position.

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Tomasetti was placed on unpaid family medical leave in January 2023, according to the lawsuit.

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Tomasetti "began experiencing adverse employment action at the hands of (his employer) after (they) learned of his disability and immediately after requesting to return from his leave and resume duty in his former role and has consistently faced adverse employment actions since," the lawsuit said, "most notably" by refusing to reinstate him "under the blatantly discriminatory rational that (North Smithfield's)employees baselessly fear (Tomasetti) might have a 'mental breakdown,' despite the total absence of evidence to that effect and abundant evidence to the contrary."

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