What we know — and don't — about a Haverhill man's death after a run-in with police
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TODAY'S STARTING POINT
Last Friday evening, several Haverhill police officers piled atop Francis Gigliotti outside a local restaurant, restraining him as he cried out for help. Gigliotti, 43, became unresponsive during the struggle and
Gigliotti's death has prompted protests and calls for accountability. This week, Haverhill police
What happened?
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Much of what we know so far has come from eyewitnesses or the district attorney's office in Essex County, which includes Haverhill.
Michelle Rooney, Gigliotti's fiancée,
that she got a panicked call from Gigliotti asking her to come to Bradford Seafood, a neighborhood restaurant. 'They gonna kill me,' he said, according to Rooney. When she arrived
One of Gigliotti's nieces
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What started it?
In a statement Saturday, an Essex DA spokesman said police got a call about a man '
When police arrived, the DA's statement continues, Gigliotti fled and tried to go inside Bradford Seafood. The owner claims that Gigliotti was '
What don't we know?
A lot, including how Gigliotti died. Haverhill police said yesterday that officers had arrested Joseph Hurley, 43,
Whether Gigliotti was experiencing a mental health crisis is another question mark. Friends and family say he had depression, had lost his mother and brother, and at some point had been hit by a bus. But Gigliotti had recently started a roofing company and 'was just getting his life back together,' a niece told
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Others appear to have known Gigliotti struggled, too. Jacques, the bystander, can be heard in the cell phone video he recorded telling police to 'be easy' with Gigliotti because 'he got issues.' One officer looks up and seems to say 'Yes, I know.' The DA's office didn't respond when asked whether police knew of Gigliotti or his mental health challenges beforehand.
The police department also has a behavioral health clinician and a social worker
What's next?
The investigation is ongoing. The district attorney plans to interview the suspended officers and witnesses and has invited people to
The incident has also rippled through Haverhill. Residents protested on Sunday, accusing police of excessive force. Others left candles and chalk-written messages honoring Gigliotti outside the restaurant. And some now fear for their own loved ones.
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'He was in a mental health state. You don't jump on him and hold him down like that,' Linda Rose,
the witness who tried to intervene and has three sons who live nearby, told the Globe through tears. 'It could have been one of my boys.'
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At the beach:
Governor Healey is pushing a measure that could redefine
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Retribution:
Trump accused Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who led Trump's first impeachment, of possible mortgage fraud and said he needed to be 'brought to justice.' Schiff called it a smear. (
Jeffrey Epstein:
House Republicans blocked a Democratic attempt to force the Trump administration to release documents related to the wealthy sex offender. Later, House Speaker Mike Johnson broke with the administration and called for the files' release. (
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Federal prosecutors have charged more than 100 people in Massachusetts
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Andrea Gibson, a spoken-word artist born in Maine, wrote poignantly about her gender identity and having terminal cancer.
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Maxwell has the ability to negotiate some of the terms of the deposition, and she already conducted 1 1/2 days of interviews with Justice Department officials this past week. Democrats, however, warn that Maxwell is not to be trusted. 'We should understand that this is a very complex witness and someone that has caused great harm and not a good person to a lot of people,' Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, told reporters this week. Committee Republicans also initiated a motion to subpoena a host of other people, including former President Bill Clinton, former Sen. Hillary Clinton as well as the former attorneys general dating back to Alberto Gonzales, who served under George W. Bush. It's not clear how this sweeping list of proposed subpoenas will actually play out, but Comer has said, 'We're going to move quickly on that.' Trump is no stranger to fighting against congressional investigations and subpoenas. And as with most subpoenas, the Justice Department can negotiate the terms of how it fulfills the subpoena. It can also make legal arguments against handing over certain information. Joshua A. Levy, who teaches on congressional investigations at Georgetown Law School and is a partner at Levy Firestone Muse, said that the results of the subpoena 'depend on whether the administration wants to work through the traditional accommodation process with the House and reach a resolution or if one or both sides becomes entrenched in its position.' If Congress is not satisfied with Bondi's response — or if she were to refuse to hand over any information — there are several ways lawmakers can try to enforce the subpoena. However, that would require a vote to hold Bondi in contempt of Congress. It's practically unheard of for one political party to vote to hold one of its own members in contempt of Congress, but the Epstein saga has also cut across political lines and driven a wedge in the GOP. Ultimately, the bipartisan vote to subpoena the files showed how political pressure is mounting on the Trump administration to disclose the files. Politics, policy and the law are all bound up together in this case, and many in Congress want to see a full accounting of the sex trafficking investigation. 'We can't allow individuals, especially those at the highest level of our government, to protect child sex traffickers,' said Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., a committee member. The Trump administration is already facing the potential for even more political tension. When Congress comes back to Washington in September, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers is working to advance to a full House vote a bill that aims to force the public release of the Epstein files.
