State Police Find Police Cruiser Didn’t Hit Gonsalves in Moped Crash, Neronha Announces No Charges
Thursday, January 07, 2021
State Police found Providence Police did not hit Jhamal Gonsalves on October 18. Photo: Providence police body camera footage
The announcement came after Col. James Manni, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police, said that their investigation found the police cruiser pursuing Gonsalves did not hit him -- but rather struck a stop sign on the corner which in turn hit Gonsalves.
"Our civil rights team guided the investigation — a critical point was the RI State Police collision reconstruction unit — it tells us what happened in this case," said Neronha.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"Our own report will be released today, reaching nearly 50 pages. All of the materials will be posted on the office’s website," said Neronha. "Anyone who wants to review or analyze them, I want the information to be out there. That transparency is important."
Neronha said that the two critical questions were how did Gonsalves sustain injuries -- did the officer strike him with his cruiser or not -- and regardless of how he sustained his injuries, did any police officer commit a crime.
"For us to bring a charge of reckless driving — we know we have to show criminal recklessness," said Neronha. "Negligent driving is not enough."
State Police Finding
"The primary focus was to find if the cruiser struck the moped," said Manni. "Damage to the [police cruiser] push bumper is consistent to contact with the stop sign post."
Manni added that the rear of the Yamaha moped showed "no damage of any kind consistent of being struck by the cruiser."
"The cruiser struck the stop sign at a speed of 18 MPH with antilock brakes fully engaged," said Manni. "The stop sign comes down onto Mr. Gonsalves.
"Gonsalves was struck on the backside of his helmet — with the red paint on the helmet consistent of that on the stop sign," said Manni.
Neronha explained that following review of officers' actions, there was found to be no criminal conduct.
"We have to prove beyond reasonable doubt we can prove reckless conduct," said Neronha. "Negligence or error of judgment is not a crime."
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At a press conference the day following the crash, Providence Police said they believed the investigation into what took place would take two weeks — and that Neronha would have an “independent” role in determining whether Providence police faced criminal liability.
"I predict it will take [police] at least two weeks before they complete their review," said Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré at the time.
On October 19, police -- and Neronha -- held their first press conference, with Chief of Police Hugh Clements, announcing it would likely take at least two weeks for an investigation to conclude what led up to the crash.
Neronha said his office would move as "quickly as possible."
"I understand and I conscious of the public’s desire to know, and get answers and get conclusions very quickly," said Neronha. "I understand that impulse, and why it exists. At the same time, we have to be very confident that we’re getting it right. Those are two things that are inherently in tension. We recognize that — we’re going to move as quickly as we can here."
That Tuesday, on October 20, a “Justice for Jhamal” protest took place in Providence, with multiple arrests.
On Monday, October 26, police released body camera footage of the incident. As GoLocal reported:
Paré said that none of the body camera footage shows the point of impact.
"We have not received any video of the point of crash at that scene," said Paré.
"What we have we will share with the public," said Paré. "How Jhamal was injured is a priority of this investigation."
Paré said that he expects the investigation to be completed within the week, as police had previously indicated they believed it would take two weeks.
He added that the conduct of officers leading up to the incident, as well as following, are all under investigation for administrative review as well.
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