'It will never compensate for what happened': PVD suit in scooter crash that stirred protests

PROVIDENCE – The city has reached a settlement in the lawsuit over the 2020 motor-scooter crash that left Jhamal Gonsalves, then 25, comatose and disabled, but the family says it will never be repaired.

“No matter the amount, it will never compensate for what happened,” Mark Gonsalves, Jhamal’s father, said Thursday.

The terms of the settlement, approved this week by the City Council’s committee on claims and pending suits, have not yet been revealed.

“The one thing I don’t like is that it’s settled without fault. It sounds like a slip and fall. There’s no accountability for the officers,” Mark Gonsalves said Thursday.

He said his son’s right arm and left leg will never be the same and that a guardian must make decisions for him.

“He’s disabled,” Mark Gonsalves said.

Lawsuit alleged unsafe, reckless pursuit

Jhamal Gonsalves sued then-Providence Police Chief Col. Hugh T. Clements Jr., Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré, the city and two officers – Kyle Endres and Brad McParlin – in the aftermath of a police pursuit of Gonsalves, riding a motorized scooter, that left him comatose for months and with a traumatic brain injury.

He accused the Providence police of using unsafe and excessive force in the Oct. 18, 2020, chase in which officers attempted to box Gonsalves in, forcing him to veer off Elmwood Avenue and lose control of the scooter, the suit says. Officer Kyle Endres then hit a stop sign and struck Gonsalves.

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha later cleared the officers of wrongdoing after an investigation determined that Gonsalves was injured by being struck in the head area by the stop sign struck by a Providence police cruiser driven by Endres. The state found that Endres was not criminally reckless.

The Providence Police Department concluded, too, that police were not trying to improperly box in Gonsalves as he rode down Elmwood Avenue and that the officers did not violate the department's pursuit policy.

The case had been expected to go to trial next month in U.S. District Court. Settlement talks were ongoing this fall with Judge William E. Smith.

More: Mark Gonsalves Sr. reflects on injured son Jhamal, his family, and himself

Pursuit sparked protests across the state

Outrage over the circumstances of the crash spread swiftly through the biker community and beyond, sparking protests. Community members say a video shared widely on social media shows a police cruiser driving into Gonsalves' scooter, sending him flying onto the pavement. Friends described Gonsalves, who at the time was with a  pack of riders of all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes, as a kind person, hard worker and beloved member of the community.

Settlement money to be placed in trust

Gonsalves' attorney, Amato A. “Bud” DeLuca on Thursday said the money would be placed in trust and monitored for Gonsalves and should last the duration of his life.

“The money will be used by him,” DeLuca said.

While city officials would not specify a dollar amount for the settlement, they did weigh in with thoughts for Gonsalves.

"The decision brings this case one step closer to resolution and closure. We continue to keep Jhamal and his family in our thoughts and prayers,” John Goncalves, chair of the City Council's committee on claims and pending suits, said in a statement regarding the committee’s approval.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Jhamal Gonsalves' family settles with Providence over 2020 crash