The Department of Public Safety identified a man accused of masturbating in the backseat of a cab early this morning, said Mark Porter, chief of police and director of public safety.
At approximately 1:50 a.m., the driver of a Chapin Taxi cab flagged down a DPS patrol car after dropping off the suspect at the intersection of Brook and Power streets, Porter said. The driver told the officer his passenger had been masturbating during the drive from downtown.
The cab driver led the officer to the intersection of Brook and Arnold streets, where the officer stopped and identified a white male with black hair, Porter said.
The suspect denied the accusation and told the officer he had been coming from work at DownCity Restaurant, Porter said, adding that the officer recognized the smell of alcohol on the suspect's breath.
The cab driver did not file an official complaint.
Porter declined to comment on whether he thinks the suspect is the same individual accused of publicly masturbating on John Street on multiple occasions. DPS has turned the case over to the Providence Police Department, which will investigate whether the suspect's description matches the descriptions of the previously accused College Hill masturbators, he said.
