"Police are cleared in death of Celtics fan" by Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff | November 11, 2009
“I think they’re lying,’’ said Cathy Woodman, with her husband, Jeffrey (right), and lawyer Howard Friedman. “In my opinion . . . those nine officers, the ones who handled him and the ones who witnessed, are to blame’’ for the death of her son David. (Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff)
From the beginning this story has bothered me. I simply can't imagine having a child taken from me in this way.
And for the "public servants" and "authorities" to COVER-UP their MURDER piles insult upon injury.
An independent panel found yesterday that there was a “lack of supervision’’ and other “missteps’’ by Boston police officers in the arrest of 22-year-old David Woodman during the 2008 Celtics championship celebration, but that none of the mistakes contributed to his death.
But Woodman’s parents said that they believe there was a coverup and that their son, who stopped breathing while in custody and died 11 days later, would be alive today if not for his encounter with police.
Let's SET the SCENE for you, readers. The Celtics have not only just defeated the hated Lakers to win the NBA title after a 22-year drought, they BLEW THEM OUT by about 40 points!
"We watched the police unload from buses. They were in riot gear, with batons and shields. There were hundreds and hundreds of them, and I looked around and said, 'Is this really necessary?'.... People were high-fiving each other. They weren't fighting. It was not a hostile crowd. But the police kept pouring off the buses, and they were very aggressive and very hostile, and I was thinking, 'Do they really need this many cops?' And I was thinking, is this going to make things better or worse?"
It made things worse for David Woodman. He mouthed off walking past a group of cops, with a beer in his hand. Woodman said what Jim Rufo was thinking: that it seemed like there were an awful lot of cops around.... experiencing something that felt like a police state."
--Asking for trouble--"
Even this brave reporter is biased; yes, the INNOCENT YOUNG MAN "mouthed off."
Did he deserve to be KILLED for that?
Former US attorney Donald K. Stern, who spearheaded the three-member commission at the behest of the police commissioner, said there was “a gap of accountability at the scene’’ after Woodman, an Emmanuel College student, was arrested for public drinking on June 18, 2008, and left handcuffed on the ground. Stern said it is unclear whether officers monitored Woodman and estimated that Woodman may have stopped breathing for as long as five minutes before officers discovered he was in distress....
I myself really don't care to hear cop lies anymore.
Woodman’s parents, Cathy and Jeffrey Woodman of Southwick, were visibly upset during a press conference at their lawyer’s Boston office. “I think they’re lying,’’ Cathy Woodman said. “In my opinion . . . those nine officers, the ones who handled him and the ones who witnessed, are to blame for his death.’’
And YOU WOULD BE, too, if HE WAS YOUR BOY!
FLASHBACK:
"David Woodman, who had been a history major at Emmanuel College and planned to return in the fall after taking a semester off, was walking from a bar with friends after the game when they passed about 10 or 12 uniformed officers at the corner of the Fenway and Brookline Avenue, according to two friends who spoke on the condition they not be named. According to one of the friends, as Woodman passed the officers, he said, "Wow, it seems like there's a lot of crime on this corner."
Watch: Never Ever Ever Ever Ever EVER Talk To Cops!!!!
I will NEVER SAY ANYTHING to them ever again -- not even a hello!
Officers grabbed Woodman, who was carrying a plastic cup of beer, and as they struggled to handcuff him pushed him face down onto the ground, according to Woodman's friend. "He wasn't being a punk or anything like that," said the friend. "I don't understand why the officers used such brute force to arrest him."
Woodman's friends said an officer yelled at them to leave, saying they would be arrested if they didn't. 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."
--source--"
Yeah, I would have liked the kid. History major, huh?
What if he were YOUR SON? How would you feel then?
David Woodman, 22
Brings me to tears every time.
Related: Remembering David Woodman
Going to pick up the ball, FBI?
*************************
The friend said officers slammed Woodman to the ground and ordered his friends to leave the area or face arrest. Officers said Woodman refused to stop and tossed his cup, splashing officers with beer. They said he clung to a wrought-iron fence and flailed his arms, requiring some five officers to tackle him. He was handcuffed on the ground when police realized he was not breathing, called an ambulance, and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation....
Took NINE OF YOU to do that?
Oh, yeah, and THEY LIED!!!
The report says officers falsely told EMTs who arrived at the scene that Woodman suddenly collapsed while they were talking to him....
ONCE a LIAR.... !!!!!!!!!
The Woodmans accused police of using excessive force and neglecting their son, saying that by the time he arrived at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, he had significant brain damage from a lack of oxygen. Woodman, who suffered an arrhythmia while in custody, regained consciousness, then died June 29 after suffering another arrhythmia while hospitalized....
Yeah, and HE WAS FINE before the COPS GRABBED HIM!!!
He was CELEBRATING a CELTICS VICTORY with his FRIENDS!!!!
Stern’s commission, which focused on police policy and procedure, criticized the investigation of Woodman’s death by the Boston police homicide unit, saying interviews were “surprisingly cursory,’’ officers were not asked to file reports, and “there was no effort to ask probing or even detailed questions.’’
Translation: COVER-UP!!!!!!
The report says Officer Michael McManus told detectives he noticed blood on his hands following Woodman’s arrest and believed it came from Woodman, yet “his response was cut off and no further questions were asked in relation to that fact.’’
Yes, BLOOD on HIS HANDS LITERALLY and FIGURATIVELY!
Do us all a favor, cop, and stick that revolver in your mouth and fire away!
Attorney Howard Friedman, who represents the Woodmans, said Woodman had abrasions or contusions on his face and arm, a cut under his chin, and a blunt force injury to his buttock.
I'm sure he got those when he "collapsed."
“We feel that there was a coverup,’’ said Friedman.
The Woodmans said they feel that justice has eluded them.
Welcome to the AmeriKan "justice" system!
“Nothing could make us happy, because we’ve lost our son,’’ Cathy Woodman said. “It’s hard for us to hear, ‘It was just a kid with a heart problem; everybody did the right thing.’ ’’
--more--"
Related:
"I miss him," she said, clutching a wet tissue.
Cathy and Jeffrey Woodman visited the site yesterday where their son, David, was arrested and lay unconscious before his death last June.
Also see: Boston Police Whitewash Woodman Murder
He may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.
