A retired Cranston police detective is accused of threatening his 27-year-old daughter with a butcher knife.
Antonio Buonanno pleaded not guilty Thursday in District Court to a misdemeanor charge of domestic disorderly conduct.
A Cranston police report said Buonanno was having an argument with his daughter, Christine, at their home in Cranston and that Buonanno “pulled out a butcher’s knife” and threatened the woman.
The report said that a few minutes later, “Buonanno put on his shoulder gun holster and taunted Christine” in a hallway.
Police said Buonanno had a pistol tucked into the back of his pants.
Christine Buonnano told NBC 10 that her father didn’t threaten her and that “it’s a resolved issue between me and the family.“
Buonanno can be prosecuted without his daughter’s cooperation.
Deborah DeBare, the executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said she is outraged by the use of a misdemeanor charge in cases like this.
“Unfortunately, it’s very common in domestic violence cases for first charges to result in a filing, which doesn’t even show up as a conviction on someone’s record,“ DeBare said.
DeBare said the coalition has been trying for several years to compel the General Assembly to include the domestic disorderly conduct charge penalties included in the stiffer mandatory penalities for domestic violence charges.
But sources tell NBC 10 that defense attorneys, the legislature and the American Civil Liberities Union oppose the legislation.
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http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/local_wpri_warwick_retired_cranston_sergeant_anthony_buonanno_charged_20090507_nek
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