Family of man who died in police restraint in Haverhill files federal civil rights lawsuit against six officers

Detailed summary

The lawsuit said the officers violated Francis Gigliotti's right to be free from "unreasonable searches and seizures and excessive force." ...

The family of Francis Gigliotti filed a federal lawsuit Monday against six Haverhill police officers who restrained him during a July 2025 encounter that left him dead, bringing the civil action months after prosecutors said the officers wouldn’t face criminal charges, records show.

The 11-page civil complaint filed in US District Court in Boston said the officers’ actions violated Gigliotti’s “clearly established and well-settled rights ... to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and excessive force” as well as his due process rights.

The suit seeks unspecified financial damages and names six officers who responded to a chaotic scene in downtown Haverhill on July 11, 2025, as defendants: Kristopher Buck, Lauren Bonnell, Brigitte Hamel, Michael Mills, Kaylee Sarfde, and Richard Welch.

None of them immediately responded to requests seeking comment, but their union said in a statement posted to Facebook that “[o]ur confidence in the men and women who proudly serve and protect our community has not wavered.”

The union also cited a statement from Haverhill’s police chief, Wayne Tracy, who said he maintains “unwavering confidence in the officers involved in this incident and stand firmly behind them.”

“I will not allow the mere filing of a lawsuit to diminish their professionalism, their integrity, or their service to this community,” he said. “We respect the judicial process and are confident that the facts will speak for themselves.”

The death of Gigliotti, 43, was recorded by multiple passersby, and in January Essex District Attorney Paul F. Tucker’s office said it had concluded that the “officers acted in a reasonable manner.”

Video showed Gigliotti acting erratically, walking in circles in a parking lot, running into the street and almost being hit by a pickup truck, and crossing a busy street in front of moving traffic, officials have said.

After a 911 call is made to police, an officer arrives and starts talking with Gigliotti before he starts walking away.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Boston Globe. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.