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SALEM, Mass. (AP) — The death of a Massachusetts man this summer
outside a fish market was attributed to an abnormal heartbeat
caused by cocaine and alcohol intoxication and efforts by police
to restrain him, the prosecutor's office said Friday.
The July 11 death of Francis Gigliotti was deemed to be a matter
of homicide in the medical examiner's findings provided to Essex
County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker office Thursday, the
Salem-based prosecutor said in a statement.
Tucker's office is investigating “whether the actions of the
police officers were justified,” according to the statement.
Seven officers in Haverhill, north of Boston near the New
Hampshire line, were put on paid leave after the handcuffed man
became unresponsive and died as he was restrained in a prone
position. Gigliotti had been walking into traffic during what
his fiancee described as a mental health crisis.
The officers were not wearing body cameras, but video captured
by witnesses showed officers holding Gigliotti face down as he
cried out. It was unclear how long he was restrained or when he
became unresponsive.
The U.S. Department of Justice has warned police officers for
decades to roll suspects off their stomachs as soon as they are
handcuffed because of the danger of positional asphyxia. Many
policing experts agree that someone can stop breathing if pinned
on their chest for too long or with too much weight because it
can compress the lungs and put stress on the heart.
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