The City of Providence has finalized an $11 million settlement with Jhamal Gonsalves, a Newport man who sustained severe injuries in a 2020 collision with police officers. The incident involved officers in vehicles running him down on his moped, smashing him into a wall, and leading him to fall into a coma for several weeks. Consequently, he suffered a traumatic brain injury, necessitating lifelong medical care.
The settlement will be disbursed in two installments of $5.5 million each. The initial payment is required to be completed by February 15, with the second installment due in its entirety on or before July 31, 2025.
The Karns Law Firm, representing Jhamal Gonsalves’ family, expressed satisfaction in resolving the case.
On behalf of Jhamal and his family, we are happy to resolve his case. This settlement should be able to provide for Jhamal’s needs for the rest of his life. This incident had a devastating effect on him and his family. This was a young man with the world at his feet and now he will require lifelong medical care and is unlikely to ever work again. Now that this matter has been resolved, Jhamal looks forward to moving on and determining his new path in life.
At that time of the crash, Gonsalves was on his scooter, part of a large group cruising around Providence that included dozens of motorcycles, mopeds, ATVs, and dirt bikes.
The Providence Police released three police body camera videos from the crash.
The first video starts right after the collision.
The second video shows one cop trying to help him while the rest just stand around not doing much of anything.
The third video shows an eye witness tell a cop a police car hit Jhamal Gonsalves.
“This one, the first car. Whoever was driving that car, hit him.”
The cop can be heard saying “stop, stop, stop, stop” seemingly in a effort to prevent the witness from making a statement.
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An investigation conducted by Attorney General Neronha revealed no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the police.
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