Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
HAVERHILL, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) —Dozens of protestors rallied outside the Haverhill Police Department on Sunday, demanding answers around the death of Francis Gigliotti.
The 43-year-old man died after a struggle with police on Friday, according to Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker’s office.
Officers received a report of a man acting erratically on White Street at 6:22 p.m. on Friday, according to the DA's office. The caller reported a man who fell on the floor while leaving a building, and ran down the middle of the street, hitting his head on a car.
“Video surveillance shows the male weaving in and out of traffic, nearly being struck several times by passing motorists,” the DA’s office said in a statement.
The DA's office said police called an ambulance for Gigliotti when he suddenly took off and tried to enter the Bradford Seafood restaurant on Winter Street. Officers attempted to restrain him for what the DA’s office said were “safety purposes and for the safety of the surrounding public.”
“The officers and male party ended up on the ground outside Bradford Seafood in a struggle. During this encounter, the male party became unresponsive, and first responders attempted lifesaving aid. EMS arrived moments later and transported the male party to a local hospital where he was later pronounced deceased,” the DA’s office said in a statement.
Gigliotti’s family protested outside the Haverhill Police Department Sunday, holding signs, chanting, and banging on windows. They said Sunday they hadn’t heard anything from Haverhill Police since his death.
“They need to come out and they need to be held responsible for what they did,” his fiancée, Michele Rooney, who was protesting outside the police department, said.
Rooney said Gigliotti had called her and asked her to pick him up before he was restrained outside the restaurant.
‘He goes, ‘I’m at Bradford Seafood, you gotta get here. They’re gonna kill me,’” Rooney said. “It was all muffled and then [voices] were like ‘Stop, stay right there’ … there was a lot of ruckus.’”
The struggle outside Bradford Seafood was caught on video. Rooney said she can’t stop watching it.
“I’m seeing one cop smirking. It was just so unnecessary, I couldn’t believe it. It was like a nightmare,” Rooney said.
Gigliotti’s family and fellow protestors said they want police to be held accountable for the incident.
“This was a murder on videotape, pure and simple,” Rooney's brother said.
The DA’s office said a full investigation is underway into what led to Gigliotti’s death and is asking the public to send in any videos or photos of the incident.
“This office understands the importance of transparency when conducting any investigation and we are committed to updating the public as soon as we are able to do so,” the DA’s office said in a statement.
WBZ's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.