Jul 3, 2008 6:35 am US/Eastern
Celtics Fan Death Sparks Independent Review
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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.
On the night of the arrest, police say they began CPR immediately after noticing Woodman was having problems. "At some point, officers realized that he was in medical distress; they released him from handcuffs and they immediately began to administer CPR, while summonsing EMS to that location," Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said earlier this week.
Attorney Howard Freedman, who is representing the Woodman family, said something different went down that night. "He was grabbed by police officers, pushed up against the fence, handcuffed behind his back and placed face down on the sidewalk."
Freedman said Woodman suffered significant brain damage after he stopped breathing for several minutes while in police custody.
Davis said police reacted quickly to Woodman's medical issue. He said this week that police did not use excessive force during Woodman's arrest. "We know that no OC spray or batons were used."
The Woodman family said their son had surgery on his heart when he was a baby for a birth defect called "trasposition of the great arteries." The condition kept him from playing certain sports, but his family does not believe it would lead to a sudden heart attack.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
