The latest alleged law enforcement misconduct in Mass, July 6-12
The latest media reports of alleged law enforcement misconduct in Massachusetts
I’m (mostly) on vacation at the moment, so all I’ve got for today are last week’s media reports of alleged law enforcement misconduct.
A 43-year-old man named Francis Gigliotti died after a group of Haverhill cops piled on top of him for a prolonged period of time. A disturbing video of the incident on Instagram shows Gigliotti crying for help and eventually becoming unresponsive while the cops restrained him. There’s more information available from WCVB:
“The father of a 40-year-old woman [Sarah Jane Hubauer] who died in Brookline police custody says investigators are treating her death as a homicide and is demanding answers. … ‘I need answers. What the hell happened under their care under their custody. She should not be dead.’” (WBZ)
“A former [Worcester] police officer convicted of rape in 2015 asked a judge on Tuesday, July 8 to cut his post-prison probation term short by six years. Rajat Sharda, who was sent to prison for five to seven years in 2015 following a conviction for rape while on duty, asked a judge to terminate his 10-year probationary sentence early.” (Telegram & Gazette; paywalled)
“A Boston police officer accused of drunkenly smashing into a fellow officer in April isn’t allowed to drive for the next month and a half and has stepped down from the police force. Stephen P. O’Connell Jr., 38, of Hanover, admitted to sufficient facts on July 2 in Quincy District Court.” (MassLive)
“A Holyoke woman who claims she suffered serious injuries from a collision with a police cruiser in 2023 is suing the city for negligence. Esperanza Caballero alleges in a legal complaint filed July 2 in Hampden Superior Court that her vehicle was struck by Holyoke Police Officer Efrain Santana while driving through the Cabot and Maple street intersection on Nov. 19, 2023.” (Republican; paywalled)
“Lead Karen Read investigator Michael Proctor’s effort to appeal his firing as a Massachusetts State Police trooper continues — he appeared at a virtual hearing on [July 8]. … [The] procedural hearing was part of his appeal to the state’s Civil Service Commission, an independent body that adjudicates issues involving state and local worker discipline, layoffs, alleged violations of state civil service law and more.” (NBC10 Boston)
“In a rare move, a Bristol County judge on [July 7] overturned a jury’s ruling that a male [New Bedford] police officer retaliated against a former female officer who had complained about alleged gender discrimination. The judge said the verdict cannot stand due to inadequate evidence and the court’s failure to properly instruct the jury. The order is a win for the city, which was on the hook for $127,000 in damages. But counsel for the plaintiff, former officer Macaila Saunders, said he plans to appeal the judge’s ruling to the state’s Appeals Court, extending a case that began in 2021 for at least several more months.” (New Bedford Light)
“A 59-year-old former Boston Police sergeant detective accused of beating an intoxicated man was arraigned [July 10] in Suffolk Superior Court, where a judge ordered him released. Christopher Cunniff, of Quincy, is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, causing serious bodily injury and assault and battery causing serious bodily injury in connection with the beating in South Boston on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.” (MassLive)
“A Boston Police officer who testified in Karen Read’s murder retrial is now the subject of a scathing letter from Read’s defense attorney, Alan Jackson, who is demanding she be added to Boston’s ‘Brady List’ for officers with credibility issues. The letter, addressed to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox …, alleges Officer Kelly Dever’s credibility is ‘irreparably compromised.’” (Boston 25)
“A North Andover Police officer who was shot by a fellow officer during what officials called an ‘armed confrontation,’ is facing a number of felony criminal charges in connection with the incident, including armed assault with intent to murder. Kelsey Fitzsimmons, 28, is also charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Officials have not said what led up to Fitzsimmons being shot in the chest by another officer while being served a restraining order at her North Andover home.” (MassLive)
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Anyway, that’s all for now.