05/09/2025
Francis Gigliotti’s Death Ruled a Homicide
The death of Francis Gigliotti from Haverhill, Massachusetts, who died after being restrained by police outside a local restaurant in July, has officially been ruled a homicide, prosecutors announced Friday. Gigliotti passed away on July 11th.
I first posted about the incident on July 13th, after finding and uploading pedestrian-shot footage of the encounter on X. Following that, I filed a FOIA request on July 14th for the police report and any available bodycam footage. Unfortunately, to my ignorance I later discovered like most Massachusetts cities and towns that the Haverhill Police Department does not use bodycams, and they declined to release the police report at the time, citing an active investigation (see attached screenshots).
I also covered Gigliotti’s case during my show, The Sunday 617, that same week. That episode focused on highlighting Massachusetts cases that deserve more public attention. During the show, I stated that I could not draw any conclusions about Gigliotti’s death without further evidence.
A lot of the work I do behind the scenes isn’t posted publicly until I have solid information. I’ve always remained open to learning more about this case and would’ve welcomed anyone onto my show to provide insight or additional context.
Some have publicly claimed I “never followed up.” While I may not have dedicated an entire series to this case, but I did address it and remained open to any developments. I think this is an important time for all of us to step back, gather facts, listen and learn, rather than rush to judgment or accusations.
I don’t hold grudges but in my defense I wanted to correct the record. B ~
(Link to the article) https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/haverhill-police-encounter-death-homicide-ruling/3803484/