State police must provide a full account of their arrest and subsequent handling of a Worcester man who died in their custody on Thanksgiving eve.
Kenneth Howe, 45, was arrested late the night of Nov. 25 at a sobriety checkpoint set up on Route 114 in North Andover. He'd been a passenger in a car stopped at the roadblock.
A spokesman for District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett's office says police observed Howe making furtive movements inside the vehicle and asked him to step out of the car. Instead, the DA's spokesman says, Howe jumped out the car window and struck a trooper. He then attempted to flee but was caught and subdued near the scene.
Howe was arrested, charged with assault and battery on a police officer, and taken to the State Police Andover barracks for booking. There, he "slumped over and was unresponsive," District Attorney spokesman Steve O'Connell said in a statement. He was taken to Lawrence General Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m. the following day.
The attorney representing Howe's family gives a different version of events, however.
Frances King says Howe was trying to dispose of a marijuana cigarette and had put his seat belt on when they came upon the roadblock.
A female state trooper approached the truck and Howe held both hands up and tried to explain that the cigarette was all he had in his hand, King said. King maintains the trooper then reached into the vehicle to try to pull Howe out and claimed Howe assaulted her, though no such assault took place.
King says some 10 to 20 police officers then beat Howe as they subdued him.
The incident is under investigation. According to reports in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Howe has a record of trying to flee from police. Also, in 2005 he was charged with assaulting police officers, although those charges were subsequently dismissed.
On the other hand, police are responsible for the health and safety of those in their custody. The investigation now underway must fully account for what happened that night.
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