21 arrested at rally for injured man; new videos released

Providence (AP) — Violence at a rally to demand justice for a Providence man seriously injured in moped crash as he was followed by a police cruiser was perpetrated by a small segment of the protesters, city officials said Wednesday, the same day they released two new videos related to the crash.

As many as 700 people participated in what started as a peaceful rally Tuesday night in support of Jhamal Gonsalves, and most had dispersed by the time about 150 who remained behind started throwing fireworks, bricks and bottles at police dressed in riot gear outside police headquarters, city Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Pare said at a news conference.

Five officers were hit by thrown objects and one was taken to the hospital with what police chief Col. Hugh Clements called a “concussion-type injury.”

Twenty-one people, including one juvenile and five women, were arrested on charges including resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, Pare said.

Gonsalves’ family had left the area by the time the violence started and his father said he does not condone any violence.

The protesters, many riding dirt bikes and ATVs, were peaceful from 6 p.m. until about 8 p.m. Mayor Jorge Elorza said.

Gonsalves, 24, was injured Sunday afternoon as police responded to reports of hundreds of dirt bikes, ATVs and other non-street legal vehicles roaring around the city streets. His father says he remains in a coma.

Witnesses say the cruiser struck the moped. A video that circulated on social media shows the cruiser behind the moped, but does not show an impact.