Mass. police chief on depart after latest deaths, outrage from households of officers

The chief of police in a Massachusetts metropolis has been positioned on depart after a pair of latest deaths rocked the neighborhood.

In an announcement shared with Boston 25 Information, Haverhill Mayor Melinda Barrett confirmed that Haverhill Police Chief Robert Pistone is on depart.

“Police Chief Robert Pistone is at present on a depart of absence efficient Wednesday, October 8, 2025,” Barrett stated.

Deputy Chief Stephen Doherty will function town’s lively police chief till Pistone returns to responsibility, in accordance with Barrett.

The announcement comes simply days after police union teams in Haverhill and Lawrence shared a letter from outraged households of Haverhill cops addressed to Pistone, questioning his dealing with of the deaths.

“Haverhill Police deserve higher from their Chief!” the letter states. “You maintain the title of ‘Chief’ solely as a result of politics handed you the title. Titles might be given. Respect should be earned. And you haven’t earned it.”

The households additionally recommended within the letter that Pistone lacks expertise, humility, and braveness.

Whereas the explanation behind Pistone‘s depart of absence is unclear, it does come within the wake of an officer’s passing and the demise of a person throughout an encounter with police.

Simply final week, Haverhill Police Officer Katelyn Tully was laid to relaxation after her sudden demise in late September.

“She served our neighborhood with grace, compassion, kindness, and professionalism, and might be deeply missed,” Pistone stated after Tully’s demise.

There was no phrase on what led to Tully’s passing, with police describing the scenario as an “unattended demise.”

In July, 43-year-old Francis Gigliotti was pronounced useless after an encounter with Haverhill officers exterior of the Bradford Seafood restaurant.

The incident was captured on cellphone video, with the Essex District Lawyer’s Workplace asserting a full investigation into the incident.

Officers responding to the scene claimed Gigliotti was appearing belligerently, and so they tried restraining him for “security functions.” The video exhibits a number of first responders surrounding Gigliotti.

Throughout that interplay, he grew to become unresponsive, and CPR was carried out. Gigliotti was taken to a neighborhood hospital, the place he was pronounced useless.

After the lethal encounter with Gigliotti, Pistone positioned seven officers on paid administrative depart pending the result of an investigation. The names of the officers concerned haven’t been made public.

In early September, the Workplace of the Medical Examiner listed Gigliotti’s reason for demise as “cardiac dysrhythmia in an individual with acute intoxication as a result of mixed results of cocaine and ethanol whereas being restrained susceptible by police.”

Barrett made no point out of the deaths of Tully and Gigliotti in her assertion asserting Pistone‘s depart of absence.

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