After a man died in Haverhill police custody, his family is asking the public for support — and demanding those responsible be held accountable.
Francis Gigliotti‘s fianceé, Michelle Rooney, created a fundraiser in the wake of his death, which she described as a “violent encounter with the Haverhill Police Department.”
“I am completely devastated,” she wrote on the GoFundMe. “Francis should still be here.”
The exact circumstances of Gigliotti’s death remain unclear, and the Essex County District Attorney’s Office has pledged to undertake a thorough investigation into what happened. On Monday, Haverhill’s police chief put seven officers on paid administrative leave — a standard practice for officers involved in a person’s death.
Videos posted to social media appeared to show a group of officers on top of Gigliotti as he screamed for help.
Still, Rooney said the family was “now left to carry not only the pain of his loss, but the burden of funeral costs and the legal fight for justice in his name.”
All donations to the fundraiser will go toward Gigliotti’s funeral expenses and a lawyer his family intends to hire to “hold those responsible accountable.”
A protest is also scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
Leti Torres, who identified herself as Gigliotti’s niece on social media, shared a flyer for the protest scheduled for Saturday afternoon at G.A.R Park in Haverhill.
“Join us this Saturday!!! We weren’t LOUD ENOUGH!!! MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS!! JUSTICE FOR FRANCIS!!” she wrote.
Police first responded to White Street in Haverhill on Friday when a 911 caller reported a man, now known to be Gigliotti, had fallen on the floor while leaving a building and was running in the street. Gigliotti had hit a car with his head, then run down White Street, the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
Surveillance shows him “weaving in and out of traffic, nearly being struck several times by passing motorists,” according to the statement.
Arriving officers found Gigliotti “behaving in an erratic and belligerent manner and called for an ambulance to assess his well-being.” But before the ambulance arrived, Gigliotti fled on foot and tried to enter 124 Winter St., the address for Bradford Seafood, where police attempted to restrain him for “safety reasons.”
It was outside the restaurant that Gigliotti became unresponsive. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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