HAVERHILL, MASS. (WHDH) - The Haverhill police officers who restrained a man who became unresponsive and later died in July 2025 will not face criminal charges, The Essex County District Attorney’s Office ruled Tuesday.
Francis Gigliotti died after being arrested by officers. Cell phone video of the arrest shows several officers on top of Gigliotti, trying to restrain him outside of a restaurant. During that encounter, the 43-year-old became unresponsive. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Haverhill police said they were responding to reports of a man acting erratically. They said surveillance video showed Gigliotti running in and out of traffic before his encounter with police.
The medical examiner determined that Gigliotti had drugs in his system at the time, and he died due to the combined effects of the drugs and police trying to restrain him.
“What was not found by the medical examiner was any injury to the nose, any injuries to the throat any injuries to the neck,” said Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker.
Seven Haverhill police officers were placed on leave at the time of his death.
Tucker said Tuesday that his office interviewed the officers, received counsel from an expert, and did a detailed analysis of surveillance cell phone video recorded by witnesses.
“The findings that I have based my conclusion on, I believe are thorough,” said Tucker. “We looked through everything, we made the judgement, we answered that narrow question whether under Massachusetts law charges would be supported and I have concluded that they would not, and therefore we’ll not be pursuing charges.”
“Today the findings by the District Attorney’s Office in their independent investigation confirmed what I knew to be true. That our officers acted in a professional manner, a reasonable manner within their training and within the law,” said Haverhill Police Chief Wayne Tracy.
In a statement, Courtney Healy, the attorney representing the Gigliotti family wrote, “The Gigliotti family is disappointed, but not surprised at such an outcome when law enforcement investigates itself within the same county…We are proceeding ahead with full confidence in our position and will do everything we can to achieve justice and accountability for the Gigliotti family.”
Haverhill Mayor Melinda Barrett said she supports the investigation’s findings.
“We are certain the facts were fully and independently reviewed and appreciate the District Attorney’s diligence in his investigation,” she said.
Healy said earlier this week that the family intends to sue the city of Haverhill, and they have already taken the first steps in doing so.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)