SALEM — Essex District Attorney Paul F. Tucker on Monday released 28 minutes of video that chronicled the final two hours of Francis Gigliotti, who died after being restrained by police in Haverhill July 11.
Tucker said the the video is “one part of the investigation” into Gigliotti’s death. The video is an edited version of 90 minutes of images compiled from the city’s closed-circuit cameras and videos submitted by the public, he said.
The compilation shows Gigliotti, 43, wandering around a city street, sometimes walking in circles in a parking lot, running into the street and narrowly missing being hit by a pickup truck, crossing a busy street at a main intersection in front of moving traffic, and then immediately changing direction and heading across the street again.
After a 911 call is made to police, one officer arrives and starts talking with Gigliotti before he starts walking away. A second and then third officer arrive, and the man runs to the entrance of the Bradford Seafood restaurant, followed by police.
Gigliotti is shown, in a video taken by a restaurant patron, pulling open the restaurant door with a police officer pulling on his clothes in an effort to drag him away from the door.
Bystanders outside the restaurant record as more officers — ultimately seven — arrive and wrestle Gigliotti to the ground.
Lying face down and with the officers on his back, Gigliotti can be heard repeatedly shouting, “Help! Help! Help! Help!”
A woman arrives on the scene and begins crying and screaming frantically.
“Please bring him back,” she is heard on the recording.
One of the bystanders who videotaped the scene shares what he saw and heard with another bystander.
“He’s dead,” one bystander said. “He’s purple, dude.”
Tucker said he decided to share the edited video partly in response to “speculation” on social media, where some videos have already been posted.
“There were some videos here that the public had not seen,” he said. “This was the first piece of the investigation that I felt that the public had a right to see as quickly as we can get it out.”
He said his office will conduct a thorough investigation.
“It will be impartial, and it will be very fair,” he said. “So I’m going to leave it at that.”
Tucker said he deliberately did not include a narration of the videos.
“People can see into it what they do,” he said. “I think the video speaks for itself.”
He said the video was shared with Gigliotti’s family and their attorney, but declined to say what their reaction was.
“I‘m going to keep private the response to the video; that was a private meeting with the family and the attorney,” Tucker said.
Attorney Timothy J. Bradl shared a statement Monday on behalf of the Gigliotti family and the estate of Francis Gigliotti in response to the release of the videos and audio. The statement said the video magnified concerns “over the protocols that were used.”
“Francis was doing nothing criminal, he was a man in distress; there needs to be a response protocol that does not include prolonged physical pressure on someone’s body. He needed to be cuffed, sat up, and left alone,” the statement read. “He tried to leave the scene earlier on and was prevented from doing so. Why he was harassed for a prolonged period of time is a mystery to us.”
The family thanked Tucker and Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett for their commitment to transparency.
“We will closely watch the legal process as it unfolds,” the family said.
Seven Haverhill officers have been placed on paid administrative leave during the district attorney’s investigation.
Barrett urged patience with the investigation.
“I recognize the community wants answers — and so do I,” she said in a statement. “While it may not move as quickly as many of us would like, I respect and support the need for a thorough investigation ... we will continue to remain patient for all the facts to be disclosed.”
She offered her “deepest sympathies go out to the friends and family of Mr. Gigliotti.”
Michele Rooney, Gigliotti’s fiancée, led a protest demanding the firing of the officers involved and improved training for police on responding to people in mental health crises.
Rooney told reporters she was on the phone with Gigliotti when he was swarmed by police officers.
“‘You gotta get here. They gonna kill me,’” Rooney recalled Gigliotti telling her on the phone. Rooney then heard officers telling Gigliotti to “stop” and “get down.” But soon the call became “all muffled.”
By the time Rooney arrived at the scene, officers were on top of Gigliotti and he was turning blue, she said.
“He was yelling, ‘Help me. I can’t breathe.’ And then he just went limp,” she said. “Still they sat on him. They just kept sitting on him.”
She said Gigliotti struggled with mental health issues after experiencing many losses in his family.
On Monday, Tucker summarized the incident by noting police were called after Gigliotti entered the Bradford Seafood restaurant which was open and full of patrons.
“Officers attempted to restrain Mr. Gigliotti for the safety of the surrounding patrons and for EMS to come and assess his well-being. Ultimately, Mr. Gigliotti and the officers ended up in a struggle and ended up on the ground outside of Bradford Seafood,” he said.
Tucker continued his summary. “During this encounter, Mr. Gigliotti became unresponsive, and first responders immediately began giving life-saving aid. EMS arrived. Moments later, Mr. Gigliotti was transported to the local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.”
Tucker’s office has charged Joseph M. Hurley, 43, with selling drugs to Gigliotti shortly before he began acting erratically. Hurley was arraigned last week in Haverhill District Court, where he pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $50,000 bail.
At the arraignment, Hurley’s lawyer said his client has denied selling anything to Gigliotti at any time, and “absolutely maintains his innocence.”
Last week, a Haverhill police report filed in court in connection with Hurley’s arrest provided a timeline for Gigliotti‘s actions before the encounter with police.
Surveillance footage shows Gigliotti coming out of 116 White St. shortly after 5 p.m. and “looking around as if he were looking to meet with someone in the area.”
At 5:09 p.m., Gigliotti is seen meeting with a man wearing a mask who was riding an electric scooter. During a brief encounter, they appeared to make a drug transaction, and Gigliotti then went back inside the White Street address, according to the report.
Witnesses said that Gigliotti “smoked crack cocaine inside of the building during that time frame and began to freak out within seconds of smoking it,” police wrote.
At 6:24 p.m., police responded to a 911 call reporting a man acting erratically, and several officers piled on top of Gigliotti as he cried out for help outside the restaurant.
Gigliotti was taken to Holy Family Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:21 p.m., according to the report.
John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him @JREbosglobe. Maria Probert can be reached at maria.probert@globe.com.