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Date: 5/10/2023
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Town officials have signed a $1.8 million settlement with Jeremy Hollins, who was permanently disabled after being shot by West Springfield police while fleeing from a traffic stop five years ago.
The incident on April 23, 2017, began when police pursued Hollins, then 29, for speeding on Memorial Avenue while on his way to a friend’s residence on Cold Spring Avenue. Police pulled up near Hollins’ vehicle as he parked his car, according to court documents. The two cars collided — police say Hollins rammed them to pin the officer in place and escape; Hollins, in his court filing, said police deliberately crashed into him.
Officers pursued Hollins into a condominium complex, firing their guns at him. State Police recovered 30 bullet casings from the scene; Hollins sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to the hospital.
Hollins was arraigned at his hospital bed and later pleaded guilty in a criminal trial to failure to stop for the police, driving under the influence of alcohol, and three counts of assault and battery.
In 2020 he filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging the police used excessive force in his arrest, and assaulted him causing emotional distress, medical bills and loss of income. He named as defendants the town, former Police Chief Ronald Campurciani and the individual West Springfield officers involved.
Hollins asked for a federal jury trial. The town opted to settle the case out of court.
“The town is settling the matter to avoid the uncertainty of litigation and to move forward from an incident that was difficult for all involved,” said Town General Counsel Kate O’Brien Scott. “The new administration of the Police Department has implemented enhanced training and updated policies and protocols.”
The Town Council on May 1 approved transferring $800,000 from free cash — unspent money left over from previous budget years — to cover its portion of the settlement. The town’s insurance company will pay the remaining $1 million.
The council also tabled action on several Eversource petitions to install “telemetry cabinets” to monitor its gas lines at three locations after hearing a neighbor question what effect the cabinets — described as 1 by 2 feet wide, and 5 or 7 feet tall — would have on intersection visibility and property values of adjoining homes. The affected installations would be at Monastery Avenue and Elm Street; Ohio Avenue and Westfield Street; and Westfield Street and Northwood Avenue. The council approved a cabinet installation on Mercury Court.