FLASHBACKS:
As in beat the stuffing out of you....
Yeah, they beat you death and lie about it.
"Webster man dies in custody after sobriety checkpoint stop" by Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff | November 28, 2009
I know our fascist courts have signed off on the legality, but the checkpoints are so unconstitutional. It assumes guilt, folks. Checkpoints are NOT America.
A Webster man died in police custody early Thanksgiving Day, about an hour after he allegedly scuffled with officers who had stopped the car he was traveling in at a sobriety checkpoint in North Andover.
The man, 45-year-old Kenneth Howe, was in the booking room at the Andover State Police barracks when he suddenly slumped over and became unresponsive. He was brought to Lawrence General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m.
This is ALREADY STINKING to high heaven!
Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett said state and North Andover police and members of the Essex sheriff’s department were holding a sobriety checkpoint on Route 114 in North Andover Wednesday when a car carrying Howe approached, just before midnight.
A State Police trooper allegedly saw Howe, the front-seat passenger, making furtive movements. When the trooper asked him to step out of the car, Howe allegedly jumped out the window, hit the trooper, and fled.
He JUMPED out of the WINDOW of a CAR?
How STOO-PID do you think we are out here?
Blodgett said he was arrested after a short foot chase and struggle. He was charged with assault and battery on a police officer. Another passenger in the car allegedly told police that Howe had lighted a marijuana cigarette before the checkpoint and that he was trying to extinguish it.
I'm sorry, folks, but SOMETHING STINKS and it is not the alleged pot!!!
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"Tests conducted in death of man in police custody; Suspect arrested at checkpoint in North Andover" by Jeannie Nuss, Globe Correspondent | November 29, 2009
Few new details emerged yesterday in the case of a Worcester man who died in police custody Thanksgiving Day after he was arrested at a sobriety checkpoint in North Andover.
Authorities said they are awaiting the results of toxicology tests from an autopsy conducted on Kenneth Howe, 45, who was a passenger in the car stopped at the checkpoint. Police said Howe jumped out a car window and hit a trooper but was caught after a short foot chase and struggle.
He was captured on the lawn of the The Lawrence Eagle-
Police said they found Oxycodone on Howe, but investigators believe he had a prescription, according to Steve O’Connell, a spokesman for Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett.
Well, yeah, it would say on the bottle.
Howe was pronounced dead at Lawrence General Hospital at 12:45 a.m. Thursday after he slumped over and became unresponsive at the State Police barracks. Two men who answered the door at a Worcester address listed for Howe yesterday said his family would not comment on the case. Meanwhile, a second passenger in the car stopped at the checkpoint, Michael Barbour, 29, of Worcester, was arrested on a warrant charging him with possession of a Class B substance, O’Connell said. The driver of the car was not charged. His name has not been released. One of the three men in the car allegedly told police they were in the Merrimack Valley looking to buy a boat.
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So why aren't the cops talking?
What are they hiding?
I mean, they are leak city when they want to get their message out!
Then the TRUTH slowly emerges:
"Witness suggests brutality by police; Man died in custody after checkpoint arrest; Authorities stand by account of events" by Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff | December 1, 2009
A friend of Kenneth Howe, the Worcester man who died after an alleged confrontation with police last week, has described to investigators a series of events that differs dramatically from authorities’ official version - and suggests that police brutality may have played a role in the death.
The friend, who witnessed the confrontation from outside his truck after it was stopped at a pre-Thanksgiving sobriety checkpoint in North Andover, said as many as 20 police officers - their arms flailing - surrounded Howe, according to an account of the testimony provided to the Globe yesterday by Boston lawyer Frances A. King.
King, who is representing the Howe family, attended the session at which the friend spoke to investigators from the Essex district attorney’s office on Sunday at his Worcester-area home. The witness’s name has not been released, and King declined to make him available to the Globe.
“I think this is an outrageous situation; I think the police officers acted like savage beasts,’’ King said yesterday. The driver told authorities that he watched one police officer emerge from the crowd out of breath, saying “good thing we had flashlights,’’ according to King. The scene was, the witness said, chaotic.
Howe, who was a carpenter and co-owner of a barbershop, died at 12:45 a.m. Thursday in police custody, touching off an investigation by the Essex district attorney’s office.
Oh, big whoop, an official investigation! That means another COVER-UP!
Yesterday, police stood by their description of what happened after the truck in which Howe, 45, was riding was stopped just before midnight at a regularly scheduled holiday eve sobriety checkpoint that included State Police, North Andover police, and Essex sheriff’s department. In a press release issued by the district attorney’s office, authorities said Howe was uncooperative when asked to step out of the truck and struck a state trooper as he jumped out the passenger side window.
Does that sound BELIEVABLE to you?
Have YOU ever tried to JUMP out of a window from a SITTING POSITION in a TRUCK with COPS ALL AROUND YOU?
This is a STEAMING, STINKING, COP LIE, folks!!!!
Howe tried to flee, but was caught after a brief foot chase, authorities said. A brief struggle ensued, and Howe was handcuffed and arrested for assault and battery on a police officer. Troopers at the Andover barracks noticed that he was unresponsive during booking and took him to Lawrence General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
Well, pot doesn't kill you and this shouldn't have either!
According to King’s account of the driver’s statement, when the car’s occupants realized they were approaching a police checkpoint, Howe moved to put out a marijuana cigarette and latch his seat belt as two state troopers neared the truck. One was at the driver’s window and another at the passenger’s window. The officers instructed the men to lower their windows, King said.
This account is MUCH MORE BELIEVABLE, folks!!! That sounds exactly like what would happen!
“She then immediately insisted that they exit the truck, and tried to drag him [Howe] out of the truck, and that’s when she yelled that he assaulted her and the chaos broke out.’’
After officers subdued Howe, they dragged him toward a police cruiser, according to King’s account of the driver’s testimony. He said Howe collapsed to the ground, and was motionless.
“That’s the last he saw of him, because the trooper told him to leave immediately,’’ King said of the driver’s account. The witness was outside the vehicle, facing Howe. He saw arm movement by the officers, but King could not say that he saw blows land on Howe’s body. Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of Howe’s death.
Michael Barbour of Worcester, the other occupant in the truck, was arrested for possession of a Class B substance. Barbour has not returned calls for comment. King said police found OxyCodone on Howe, but she said his family indicated that he had a prescription for the medication. Steve O’Connell, spokesman for Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett, said the police report on the incident is not available because it had not been completed.
PFFFFFFFFFTTTTT!!!!!
Investigators are awaiting toxicology results from the medical examiner’s office to help determine the cause of death. King said she and one of Howe’s relatives traveled to the medical examiner’s office yesterday to identify the body. King said a photograph of Howe showed that he had “fairly large bruises on the right part of his head, a bruise on the mouth area and over his left eye.’’ “We do have a dead body, so obviously something happened that night,’’ she said.
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And watch the Globe turn the VICTIM into the ACCUSED!
"Man who died after arrest had record; Assault on officer charge dropped" by Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff | December 2, 2009
He had a record, so what?
Does that mean he deserved to be beaten to death by 20 pigs?
A Worcester man who died in police custody last week after he allegedly tried to flee a police checkpoint in North Andover had prior run-ins with authorities, including an alleged assault on two officers and another flight attempt from State Police, records show.
And WHAT DISCIPLINARY PROBLEMS did the ASSAULTING OFFICERS have, Globe?! Why are you covering for fascistas, Glob? I thought you cared about human rights! Is it the pot?
Kenneth R. Howe, 45, was charged four years ago with assaulting two Worcester officers, but those charges were dismissed, then refiled, and ultimately dismissed, according to court records. In that incident, two Worcester officers reported that Howe was sitting on a sidewalk near a car they had stopped for a traffic violation. In their reports, the officers said Howe approached and began yelling at them because they had pulled over one of his friends. The officers told Howe to leave or they would arrest him, but after taking several steps away, Howe uttered profanity in their direction. When the officers went to arrest him, Howe lunged and punched one of them, then grabbed the arm of the other officer. Howe, according to a court document, claimed self-defense.
That's what the cops said, huh? To be instantly dismissed.
Frances A. King, a Boston attorney representing the Howe family, said Howe’s record, “whatever he has done, is in the past and is completely irrelevant to me.’’
Exactly! Besides, HE DIDN'T DESERVE TO DIE on Thanksgiving no matter what false charge he was accused by the cops. NEVER TALK to POLICE, readers -- EVER!!!!!! Buy yourself a piece instead.
On Monday, King said Howe’s death resulted from brutality, that as many as 20 police officers at a holiday sobriety checkpoint on Route 114, on the day before Thanksgiving, converged on him after a state trooper yelled, “He just assaulted me.’’
*******************
King said, based on the statements of the truck’s driver, Howe was cooperative and never assaulted the officer. She added that Howe’s family all describe him as a man who did not fight. He was a carpenter and co-owned a barbershop.
Exactly! He had a job and was a businessman. He had a LOT to LIVE FOR!!! And the brutal bastards took it away from him on Thanksgiving.
“Even if everything they say is true, why is he dead?,’’ King said....
YUP!!!!
While being interviewed by investigators Sunday at his Worcester area home, the driver said the crowd of police was so thick he could not see Howe on the ground and did not see any of them actually hit Howe, despite seeing numerous arms “flailing.’’ King sat next to the driver, who has not been identified by police or King, during the interview. Court documents indicate Howe has 32 entries in his record and had been stopped multiple times for motor vehicle offenses, including one in July 2008 when a state trooper attempted to stop him after he failed to signal a turn in Worcester.
Gee, the Glob really crawled right up his ass, huh?
Of course, if it was SOME DRUNK PUBLIC OFFICIAL they would MINIMIZE the issue!
Btw, NONE of that has ANYTHING TO DO with him being BEATEN TO DEATH on THANKSGIVING!!!! Why the s***-shovel, Globe, and why no investigation of the cops?
According to the trooper, Howe sped away, driving a Chevrolet Trailblazer as fast as 80 miles per hour, and passed other cars in a no-passing zone. Howe eventually pulled over and told the trooper he was sorry and that he ran because his license was revoked. Police found a medication bottle full of marijuana in the vehicle’s glove compartment. Howe told the trooper that he had smoked “a little.’’
Howe was charged with failure to stop, negligent driving, and other violations and was sentenced to 60 days in jail and a year of probation, which ended earlier this year. Steve O’Connell - spokesman for the Essex district attorney’s office, which is investigating Howe’s death - said Howe’s record is not a factor in this case. O’Connell said investigators are awaiting a medical examiner’s toxicology report.
Yeah, but the GLOBE SPENT a WHOLE ARTICLE DRAGGING IT UP!!
Why DISCREDIT a DEAD MAN, Globe?
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Related: Drug War Making a Killing in Boston
"In police custody, a suspicious death
A FAMILIAR air of mystery surrounds the case of Kenneth Howe, a 45-year-old Worcester man who died after an alleged struggle with police last week at a pre-Thanksgiving sobriety checkpoint in North Andover. A team of high-ranking State Police officers attached to the Essex district attorney’s office will need to conduct a spotless investigation to clear the air.
Howe was smoking marijuana in the passenger seat of a vehicle on Nov. 25, authorities and witnesses say, when confronted by state, local, and county law enforcement officers. He allegedly exited a window, struck a police officer, and fled.
"Exited a window?"
Do you know how hard it is to jump out of a car window?
Of course, the police would never lie.
Police arrested Howe after a brief chase and struggle. He collapsed a short time later at the State Police barracks in Andover and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. That’s the official version of events. But an unnamed witness tells a different story, according to Frances King, the attorney for the Howe family. The witness claims he could see as many as 20 police officers surround the suspect, flailing their arms. King also says that Howe’s body showed signs of significant bruising.
Howe’s death evokes the 2008 case of David Woodman, who died of a heart arrhythmia after a confrontation with Boston police. No charges were brought against the officers. But Woodman’s family suspects the use of unreasonable force.
See: The Night the Celtics Won the Championship
The same specter hangs over the Howe case. In both cases, police went into the bunker, failing to produce a timely police report of the incident. In the Woodman case, an independent inquiry by former US attorney Don Stern found a “surprisingly cursory’’ police investigation of the death. In the Howe case, investigators have gotten off to a slow start. A week after the incident, they had yet to complete their interviews of all officers present at the scene. In potential police misconduct cases, best practice calls for interviews to be conducted within a 24- to 48-hour window. Otherwise, the suspicion of collusion can arise.
Police await the toxicology report on Howe, who had earlier run-ins with law enforcement. The presence at the scene of a photographer for the Eagle-Tribune newspaper during part of the incident should also aid the investigation.
So WHY have we not heard from them, huh?
Why has the Globe dropped this like a hot potato (that they could use to stay warm when you think about it)?
It is too early to draw firm conclusions. But it is not too early to wonder why a suspect with a small amount of marijuana - a civil offense in Massachusetts - would be rolling around on the ground with police in the first place. Only a thorough and impartial investigation will reveal the truth.
Translation: They need a cover story.
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TODAY:
In this Nov. 25, 2009, photo, police are preparing to arrest Kenneth Howe, 45, of Worcester at a sobriety checkpoint roadblock in North Andover. (Carl Russo/Eagle-Tribune/Associated Press)
Essex County prosecutors said yesterday that they will confer with the state’s top federal prosecutor over the case of a Worcester man who was fatally injured in November at a police checkpoint in North Andover.
He was MURDERED!!
Jonathan W. Blodgett, Essex district attorney, plans to discuss the case of 45-year-old Thomas Howe, who collapsed Nov. 25 after struggling with police from three different agencies on Route 114 in North Andover, with US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.
Yesterday, Blodgett’s office released the official cause of death - “blunt impact of the head and torso with compression of the chest’’ - and the conclusion that the manner of his death was a homicide.
The medical examiner identified Howe’s general health as “contributory causes,’’ having concluded that he was “atherosclerotic’’ - his arteries were clogged - and that he also had “hypertensive cardiovascular disease,’’ according to the one-page document.
So what? He was walking around and alive until Thanksgiving night!
Blodgett and State Police detectives have been investigating the case.
Boston attorney Frances A King, who represents Howe’s estate, said the medical examiner’s conclusion supports the allegation that Howe “was beaten to death’’ by officers at the checkpoint.
She also bristled at any suggestion Howe’s cardiac health had any significant role in ending his life.
“The cause of death is the vicious beating, the blunt force impact,’’ King said in a telephone interview. “That’s what killed Kenny. He was murdered.’’
King said she has reviewed 43 photographs taken by a photographer for the Eagle-Tribune newspaper who was nearby because the newspaper’s headquarters is in North Andover, close to where State Police, North Andover police, and Essex County deputy sheriffs had set up the checkpoint. She said the photographs span an 11-minute period.
“There is absolutely no way reasonable force was used in this case,’’ King said. “He has handcuffs on part of that time and leg irons and [police] beating him to death.’’
Officials from the State Police and the union representing troopers both declined comment. Officials from the other agencies and their unions either declined comment or could not be reached.
There has been no change in the status of state troopers and Essex County deputy sheriffs involved. The status of the North Andover police involved was not known. No one has been charged criminally....
Sigh.
Authorities have said that Howe was a passenger in a truck that was stopped at the checkpoint shortly before midnight on Nov. 25.
He allegedly was uncooperative with police when asked to step out of the truck and allegedly tried to run away before being captured by officers after a brief foot chase, authorities have said.
Why COVER UP the LIE the COPS TOLD about him JUMPING out the WINDOW!
Ever try to JUMP OUT of a CAR or TRUCK WINDOW while SITTING in the CAR?!!
Try it sometime and you will see HOW LUDICROUS that LIE IS!!!!
Brought to the Andover State Police barracks, Howe appeared unresponsive around 12:45 a.m. on Thanksgiving and was taken to Lawrence General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
King said Howe’s widow and three children - ages 15, 10, and 13 months - have been devastated by his death.
Yeah, he was their PROVIDER!!!
“It’s a horrible, horrible situation,’’ she said. “The widow cries all the time, and the kids are having difficulty focusing in school.’’
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The family of a Worcester man filed a federal lawsuit yesterday saying he was fatally beaten by police at a North Andover sobriety checkpoint in November.
This state stinks!! NO CRIMINAL CHARGES from them?
The wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit filed yesterday in US District Court in Boston by the family of Kenneth R. Howe, 45, seeks unspecified financial damages and an injunction to prevent others in the future from police behavior that the family called inappropriate.
“From the beginning, we have stated that he was beaten to death by police; that was confirmed on Jan. 21 by the medical examiner’s office,’’ attorney Frances A. King said yesterday at a news conference in front of the federal courthouse. “The loss of a husband and a father is a pain that cannot be described. These children and their mother will never see their father or their husband again.’’
The suit alleges that Howe’s Fourth and 14th Amendment rights against unreasonable force, his Eighth and 14th Amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment, and his 14th Amendment right to due process were violated at the police checkpoint.
Howe, a father of three who worked as a carpenter and who co-owned a barbershop in Clinton, died at 12:45 a.m. on Nov. 25 last year after being taken into police custody at the sobriety checkpoint. Police said he was smoking marijuana in his truck.
Police lie.
In a press release issued at the time by the Essex district attorney’s office, authorities said Howe was uncooperative when asked to step out of his truck and that he struck a state trooper in jumping out the passenger side window.
What BULLS***!!!
He allegedly tried to flee but was caught after a foot chase, and struggled with police and state troopers, who subdued him. Police have said Howe fought with the officers and resisted arrest....
Police lie.
“I just want justice done for me and my kids and for Kenny,’’ said Howe’s wife, Margaret, speaking to reporters in front of the courthouse. “My life hasn’t been the same since he has been gone. I can’t even explain to you how it has been. He was there every day for us, and now he’s gone.’’
King also called on the US attorney’s office in Boston to take over the investigation into the death of Howe. State Police investigators assigned to the Essex district attorney’s office are looking into the case.
“It is nothing short of absurd to think that the Massachusetts State Police Department can investigate the Massachusetts State Police Department,’’ King said, calling for federal prosecutors to work with the FBI to assume control of the investigation....
She seems to be right about that!
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Related: Springfield Calls In the FBI
