Officer linked to scooter crash among 15 promoted by Providence police
PROVIDENCE — One of the police officers involved in a motorized-scooter crash last year that left a 24-year-old man in a coma last year has been promoted to detective.
Kyle Endres was among 15 officers promoted in a ceremony Thursday.
Endres was involved in an Oct. 18 police pursuit that ended in a crash that left Jhamal Gonsalves, now 25, with a traumatic brain injury. The police were trying to control hundreds of vehicles, including ATVs, dirt bikes and other motorcycles, that had been riding around the city that day.
In following Gonsalves, Endres struck a stop sign, which hit Gonsalves' helmet as the two vehicles veered off Elmwood Avenue. Witnesses and family members claimed that Endres' cruiser struck Gonsalves' scooter, but a state police investigation concluded it did not.
Officers told internal investigators that Gonsalves was at times riding on the wrong side of the road and may have run a red light on his scooter, which was street legal but not registered.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha's office investigated the case, but announced in January that none of the officers involved would be charged.
However, Endres was suspended for two days without pay for violating department policy on driving safely and for not wearing his seat belt.
Gonsalves' fiancée and mother have filed a lawsuit on his behalf against the city and its public-safety officials. U.S. District Judge William Smith dismissed several of its claims over the summer, dealing the suit a major blow. But Smith let stand a claim arguing that the city is vicariously liable for the allegedly reckless conduct of Endres and Brad McParlin, the other Providence police officer involved in the incident.
Gonsalves' father did not respond to a request for comment on Endres' promotion.
Endres graduated from Salve Regina University in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in the administration of justice. The following year, he graduated from the Rhode Island Municipal Police Academy and joined the Jamestown Police Department as a patrol officer.
In 2014, Endres joined the Providence Police Department, serving as a patrol officer in South Providence. In 2020, he transferred to the traffic bureau. He is a certified accident-reconstruction specialist and a member of the special-response unit.
While the ceremony marked a moment of celebration, Chief Col. Hugh T. Clements Jr. alluded to the challenges faced by his department.
"There’s been no more difficult moment in policing in these United States and cities in this country, and Providence hasn’t escaped that," he said.
Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré, who previously spent more than two decades in the Rhode Island State Police, remarked on the competitive nature of the promotions process, calling Providence officers "among the best if not the best I’ve had the opportunity to work with."
In addition to Endres, the following officers were promoted in a 2 p.m. ceremony: Captains Kevin Lanni and Henry Remolina to major; Sergeants Nicholas Ludovici and Robert Papa to lieutenant; Officers Michael Place, Derek Shields, Peter Salmons, Clifford Torres, Joseph Lopes, Brian Murphy, Noel Field III and David Schiavulli Jr. to sergeant; and Officers Christopher Beach and Kyle Richards to detective.
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