
Providence and Worcester Railroad Held Liable for Arrest
WORCESTER, Mass. – A jury has found the Providence and Worcester Railroad Company liable for more than $310,000, plus interest, in a civil rights violation lawsuit stemming from a February 1996 arrest. A subsequent motion for a new trial was denied May 25, 2004. A judge, however, reduced the award to $319,058.95, down from the $319,558.95 the jury awarded. The lawsuit stems from an incident in February 1996 when the plaintiff, George W. O’Leary, was arrested for trespassing on the Company’s right of way in East Providence, R.I., by a member of the Company’s police force, which was deactivated in