HAVERHILL, MASS. (WHDH) - Stumbling out of a Haverhill building, security cameras appear to catch Francis Gigliotti fall on top of a parked car.
He quickly crossed the street, where he seems to run and briefly stop, before zig zagging through a parking lot.
Authorities say the video explains what led up to seven Haverhill police officers restraining Gigliotti, who died a short time later.
Friends continue to leave mementos where Gigliotti was taken to the ground by police.
“He shouldn’t be where he’s at right now. He should definitely be in heaven but not by HPD,” said Shawn Dagraca Sr., a friend of Gigliotti’s.
Investigators say they have arrested Joseph Hurley. They say they have video of him selling drugs to Gigliotti.
Witnesses told detectives Gigliotti recently purchased crack-cocaine inside a building before he began acting erratically.
“Its not what he was doing before hand. The end result was what that there were seven cops on him. Doesn’t take seven cops to subdue somebody. Its just wrong,” said Dagraca.
Dagraca says the police are trying to shift blame away from their officers. Police say Gigliotti was wandering in the middle of the street, almost got hit by cars, then became belligerent and caused a struggle with officers.
“If you watch the video, when there was one police officer trying to subdue or talk to him whatever, he was good with that,” Dagraca said. “Its when they started to corner him when there was an issue.”
7NEWS’ repeated requests for comments from Haverhill’s Mayor, police chief, and Essex County District Attorney have gone unanswered for days, leaving Gigliotti’s loved ones and community trying to make sense of it all.
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