Man who collapsed during arrest after Celtics victory dies; DA to investigate

In the other incident, which occurred just after 2 a.m., Reed told the Globe that he and a friend had just left Remington's on Boylston Street and were only 4 feet from where he had parked his grandfather's car when police officers ordered them to turn around and walk in the other direction.

Reed said he told an officer, "The car's right in front of us; we're just going to get in and leave," and was told: "I don't care. You have to walk around the block to get to your car."

Reed said when he again asked if he could just get in his car, officers attacked him.

"They tried to throw me down, and I kind of caught myself, but then two more officers came in, so now I've got three on me, and they got me down," Reed said. "While I'm going down, I'm getting punched on the right side of my face, and I can remember I got punched twice. My lip was busted on that side. Basically they throw me down, punch me in the face, and grind my face into the street."

Reed said he was kicked by an officer while on the ground and later went to the hospital for a CAT scan, which was negative.

He said he had recently taken the police exam, scoring a 96, and would never resist arrest. His case is pending in Boston Municipal Court.

A report filed by police alleges officers believed that Reed and his friend "were being disorderly and attempting to incite the surrounding crowd by their actions" and that "officers were forced to use open-handed tactics to subdue the suspects."

NOTE: "SUBDUE THE SUSPECTS" - THEY WEREN'T CRIMINAL SUSPECTS, THEY JUST WANTED TO DISCUSS THE ORDER TO WALK AROUND THE BLOCK

"In a situation where officers are trying to maintain a peaceful environment with thousands of individuals, it's imperative that individuals do as they are asked," Driscoll said, when told of Reed's allegations. "In this particular situation, it seems clear that Mr. Reed did not do so."

They're using overwhelming force as a deterrent for mob behaviour. The problem is that the citizens are not a threat that justifies overwhelming force.

POLICE COMMISSIONER ED DAVIS REQUESTS FORMER US ATTORNEY DONALD K. STERN TO CONDUCT AN EXTERNAL REVIEW INTO THE DEATH OF DAVID WOODMAN

Police Commissioner Ed Davis has requested that Donald K. Stern, the former US Attorney and now a partner at Cooley Godward Kronish, review the facts and circumstances surround the death of David Woodman. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office in conjunction with The Boston Police Homicide Unit has already begun a thorough and exhaustive investigation into David’s death. The Boston Police Internal Affairs Division is also conducting an investigation.

Commissioner Davis stated, “I have complete confidence that the investigation into the death of Mr. Woodman will be fair and thorough. In the interest of public trust and transparency, I see great value in having an outside, independent, and broader review of the circumstances into this incident, to determine if there are any changes in policies or training which the Department should consider. Obviously, this must be accomplished in a way which does not compromise the District Attorney's effort. I have assured Mr. Stern that he will have whatever support and assistance he needs from the Department."

David is asking for a review of department procedure, not for oversight by or investigation by the US Attorney's office.

At the least, the is political cover. I mean, he chose a lawyer in private practice who used to be the US Attorney. At most, he's aware of procedure that is problematic - like maybe slamming citizens to the ground when they're being arrested, punching them n the face and kicking them while they're down. What if that's policy!

Still, Woodman's parents don't trust the DA who is working with the Police and internal investigation. I don't blame them. The police have been circling the wagons from the word go and you don't need the Woodman's to tell you that to know its true.

LINK

BOSTON—Boston's police commissioner is asking for an independent review into the death of a man who stopped breathing after his arrest during the Boston Celtics NBA championship celebrations last month.

Commissioner Edward Davis said Wednesday night he's asking former U.S. Attorney Donald Stern to conduct the outside investigation. Stern led an independent investigation into the death of Victoria Snelgrove, who was struck by a police pepper pellet during the Boston Red Sox 2004 American League Championship Series victory celebration.

Twenty-two-old David Woodman died Sunday, 11 days after his arrest. His parents, Jeffrey and Cathy Woodman of Southwick, have questioned police handling of their son.

The Woodmans lawyer says two of the nine officers involved in the case have previously faced disciplinary action.

LINK

Police had faced discipline before
By Shelley Murphy and Maria Cramer
Globe Staff / July 3, 2008

STORY

[IMG]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk143/nfsagan/b...

Commissioner Davis worries me. He thinks his own detectives would be the best investigators to determine if there was a crime committed. Why risk a poor investigation or pit uniform cops against detectives? He could handed this over to the FBI with an understanding that nothing would be leaked unless charges were brought, and that a factual report would be delivered to the commissioner but no, we've put the FBI on the tail end of this relying on the quality of the work by department insiders.

FBI to probe death of fan
At issue is use of excessive force
By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff / July 8, 2008

The FBI announced yesterday that it will look into whether Boston police officers used excessive force while arresting David Woodman, but not until after police and Suffolk County prosecutors finish their investigation into the death of the 22-year-old former Emmanuel College student who was arrested during the Celtics championship celebration and stopped breathing while in custody.

"We will take a look at all of the facts once they are available; then we will decide what further steps, if any, need to be taken," said Gail Marcinkiewicz, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Boston, adding that the agency is also awaiting Woodman's autopsy results, which are not completed.
WHOLE STORY

[img]http://cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-fba/Globe_Ph...

David Woodman's parents lawyer on NECN video link here. This is a good review of the information the lawyer has been able to obtain..

Two new victims of "Boston's finest"

July 8, 2008

AS IN just about every city in the country, the police in Boston are flooding into neighborhoods and increasing surveillance, all in the name of cracking down on violence. The summer began, though, with two incidents that displayed the Boston cops' own violent tactics.

On May 27, in the Black neighborhood of Roxbury, police hit 20-year-old Nathaniel Rivers with their cruiser and then beat him.

According to Rivers, he found a gun in a park where his family was having a cookout. The mayor and the cops have been promoting a program that pays people to turn in guns, so Nathaniel got on his bike to take the gun to the police station. He didn't get far though before police knocked him off his bike when they rammed him with their car.

The cops then beat Nathaniel so severely that he needed an EMT's attention afterward. His cousin, Stephen Lewis, intervened to protect Nathaniel when he saw that the cops were unrelenting. "They just kept beating him and beating him and beating him," Lewis told the Boston Globe. "I only stepped in when he said 'I can't breathe!'" The cops responded by beating Lewis, too.

Freda Rivers, Nathaniel's mother, lamented the cops' actions as her son was arraigned for unlawful possession of a firearm the next day, his face bruised from the night before. "Mayor Thomas Menino is telling these kids to pick up guns and turn them in," she said. "Is this what's going to happen to them?"

Less than a month later, on June 18, the Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers, winning the NBA Championship.

After weeks of anticipation, the city erupted in celebration at the longstanding underdogs' win. In a city so divided by racism, it was amazing to see Black and white people from different neighborhoods converge downtown in a spirit of celebration and togetherness. The cops had other plans, though.

For weeks, they had been boasting of a huge presence downtown during the final games, and they out were in full force with riot gear during game six, when the Celtics won. The cops arrested 24 people that night, wielding clubs all the way.

In press conferences the next day, police and city spokespeople commended the cops on a job well done in keeping the streets safe. Eleven days later though, 22-year-old arrestee David Woodman died in a hospital from injuries suffered at the hands of the police.

According to police, Woodman had an open container on the night of the game, and he ran when the cops started chasing him. Because he "struggled," the police "were required to use force." The fact that Woodman had to be rushed to the hospital, where he went into a coma, speaks to the kind of force the cops used.

Nathaniel Rivers and David Woodman come from different places. Rivers is from the beleaguered Black neighborhood of Roxbury in Boston, and Woodman lived in the affluent, white suburb of Brookline. Tragically, both suffered at the hands of "Boston's finest," both were victims of police repression in the name of law and order, and both victims have been portrayed as the aggressors.

Whatever the pretexts for the repression, we should have no illusions that the cops will protect and serve us.
Khury Petersen-Smith,, Boston
LINK

Many people greeted Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis’ assertion that the department could launch a fair investigation into the death of David Woodman with skepticism. How can officers investigate their own without some kind of bias?

link: Boston Magazine >> Daily Blog

Boston Magazine >> Boston Daily Blog

Woodman’s death will be another test of his leadership. The young man’s friends have told the media that officers were unnecessarily rough when they arrested him, and his parents are calling for a federal investigation.

Davis has resisted those efforts and is instead calling for an internal review, along with the Suffolk DA’s investigation.

The account given by Woodman’s friends and Boston Police are very contradictory.

[snip]

One of the friends said he returned a few minutes later but was ordered to leave or face arrest. “They were all just around him and he was on the ground and not moving,” the friend said. “I didn’t see them giving him CPR.”

For their part, officers say they started CPR when they realized Woodman was in trouble.

New York Times
By PAM BELLUCK

BOSTON —The death of a 22-year-old man who had been taken into custody on the night the Boston Celtics won the N.B.A. championship has prompted an official investigation.

The family of the man, David Woodman of Brookline, is questioning whether the actions of the police in subduing him or seeking medical attention for him after he had stopped breathing may have contributed to his death.

More

SIMSBURY, Conn. - David J. Woodman was remembered this morning as young man who loved life, always spoke his mind, and was steadfast in his faith. MORE HERE

An attorney for the family of a Southwick man who died last week says they are happy things are moving in the right direction, hoping an investigation by the FBI will shed some light onto whether or not Boston Police officers used excessive force in the arrest that may have led to their son's death.

"We asked for the FBI to investigate, so we're glad that they're doing that," said Howard Friedman, a civil rights attorney representing the family of David Woodman.

[snip]

Police have denied any wrongdoing but Friedman says he is concerned about how the investigation into Woodman's death will be handled.

"I'm worried because Boston police officers will be investigating Boston police officers. All 9 officers claimed to have stress so they were unable to be interviewed initially, and we know the officers at the scene forced all of the civilians out of the area under threat of arrest, so that raises our suspicion," Friedman said by telephone Tuesday.

link to source

Stern appoints 2 to investigative team
July 10, 2008

BOSTON—The former U.S. attorney leading the independent investigation into the death of a Celtics fan has appointed a former FBI bureau chief and a former U.S. Marshal to his team.

Donald Stern said Wednesday that Barry Mawn and Nancy McGillivray will help him probe accusations of excessive force by police during the arrest of 22-year-old David Woodman.

Mawn led the FBI's Boston office from 1997 to 2000. McGillivray was a supervisor with the U.S. Marshal's service in Boston from 1994 to 2002. more

CLOSE RANKS
Protect self interest, not the public interest.
By Joan Vennochi, July 10, 2008

The Boston Firefighters' Union is once again flaunting its me-first culture and resistance to change.

Four months ago, Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser demanded that a department board reopen its investigation and examine autopsy reports of two firefighters who died last year in a restaurant fire. The board - composed entirely of union members - did nothing. As reported by the Globe's Donovan Slack, board members refused to examine autopsy reports that indicate that one firefighter had cocaine in his system and the second had a blood alcohol level of 0.27, more than three times the legal limit to drive in Massachusetts.

[snip]

The "culture problem" at the Boston Fire Department is the big problem.

The Boston Firefighters Union continues to play the role of rebel with only one cause, self-protection. Union president Ed Kelly recently told Boston Magazine that the scandals of the past 11 months have been twisted to serve a single purpose: "to bully us into an inferior contract," so the city can save money. "The only time you read about alleged abuse and gaming of the system is when they're trying to attack us, to put pressure on us at the bargaining table," said Kelly in the magazine's July edition.

A me-first mentality is not unusual for public employee unions. You can see another example after the death of David Woodman, 22, who stopped breathing while in police custody after his arrest during the June 18 Boston Celtics NBA championship celebration.

The first reaction of police officers involved in the incident was to coordinate their stories to protect each other. Thomas J. Nee, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, responded with immediate certainty that "nothing those officers did that night caused his death." Nee's certainty was backed up by Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis, who also declared, "While our investigation is still preliminary, it appears from the evidence that we have reviewed thus far that officers did not use excessive force." The FBI is now investigating the matter.

Here is an interesting account of the incident. It does not include any description that resembles David Woodmen's alleged attempt to flee, which is the only justification for handling him so forcefully. Without the attempt to flee, it is clearly excessive force. In other words, if he cooperated, they can't smash him into a fence and then smash him face first on the ground.

Here's another thing to consider: If you walked close enough to 9 cops to be heard saying "Wow, it seems like there's a lot of crime on this corner" would you run if they told you to stop?

David, a well-liked 22-year-old Emmanuel College student who had moved from San Jose to Massachusetts before high school, was carrying a beer as he walked home with four buddies from a Kenmore Square bar. At Fenway and Brookline Avenue, they passed a group of cops. "," Woodman said sarcastically.

Police encounter

His buddies say the cops slammed Woodman against a fence and shoved him to the pavement. Then they warned the friends to get lost.

Sometime in the next few minutes - maybe just then - Woodman's heart stopped. As an infant, he had suffered from a heart condition that required open-chest surgery, leaving him with a huge scar and a shorter grip on life.

Between his handcuffing and the time police summoned an urgent, or "push" ambulance, six minutes elapsed. CPR by the cops failed to bring Woodman back. His family says his brain was deprived of oxygen.

Though he revived in the hospital long enough to greet his mother, Woodman was never the same. On June 29, he died. Investigators are awaiting autopsy results.

[snip]

My friends in Boston say the investigation called by the U.S. attorney may have legs, in part because the nine officers who surrounded Woodman went to the hospital immediately for stress treatment - an unusual move that postponed questioning.

http://www.mercurynews.com/columns/ci_9906056

Cullen finds a season ticket holder who saw it coming.

How many others have to die before the Boston police figure out that maybe, just maybe, they are helping to create the very conditions they seek to control with storm trooper tactics?
Asking for trouble
By Kevin Cullen
July 21, 2008