R.I. Gen. Laws § 30-9-8

Every officer and enlisted person or other person to whom public funds or public property, belonging to the state or for which the state is responsible, has been, or may hereafter be, issued shall be financially and personally responsible to the state for its good condition, safekeeping, and return when called upon by competent authority. No one shall be relieved from this responsibility, except if it is shown to the satisfaction of the governor that the loss, damage, or destruction of, or the failure to return, the property or funds was unavoidable, and not the fault of the person responsible for them.