Pawtucket Officer Cleared in Shooting of Man With Toy Gun

Pawtucket, RI - A Pawtucket police officer who shot and wounded a man holding what appeared to be a firearm has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing following a state investigation, the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office announced this week.

June 2025 Incident

On June 8, 2025, Officer Thomas Letourneau responded to calls about a man allegedly carrying a weapon near a busy intersection in Pawtucket. When Letourneau confronted 28-year-old Sebastian Yidana, Yidana was holding what looked like a rifle, and he did not immediately comply with repeated commands to drop the weapon.

Believing Yidana was armed and posed an immediate threat to the public and officers, Letourneau fired multiple shots, striking Yidana once in the shoulder. At the time of the shooting, neither Letourneau nor other responding officers realized the item was a toy or replica firearm.

Yidana was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and later faced legal charges related to pointing the replica gun at others.

Attorney General Review

Following standard procedure for officer-involved shootings in Rhode Island, the case was jointly investigated by the Pawtucket Police Department, Rhode Island State Police, and the Attorney General’s Office. After reviewing the evidence — including body-worn camera footage and witness accounts. The AG’s office concluded that Officer Letourneau’s use of force was “objectively reasonable and legally justified under the totality of the circumstances.”

In its report, the Attorney General’s Office noted that Letourneau had clearly ordered Yidana to drop the weapon and allowed him an opportunity to comply before shots were fired. The review further stated that Yidana’s actions, pointing what appeared to be a firearm at the officer and others, created a dangerous situation that could have resulted in serious harm.

Legal and Community Context

The ruling effectively closes the case from a criminal prosecution standpoint and confirms that the officer will return to full duty.

Like many officer-involved shootings, the incident has sparked public discussion over police response to people holding replica or toy firearms and the challenges officers face in split-second decisions where the potential for real danger exists.

Family members and community observers have previously raised concerns about the shooting and the use of force in similar situations, but the Attorney General’s report emphasizes that decisions in the field must be based on what a reasonable officer would conclude at the moment, not with the benefit of hindsight.