HAVERHILL — The father of late Haverhill police Officer Katelyn Tully says his daughter was among the seven placed on administrative leave in connection with a July incident involving Francis Gigliotti, who died after a police encounter.
Retired Lawrence Police officer John Tully spoke Wednesday about the troubles his daughter and other involved officers have faced in recent months, expressing his disappointment with how Haverhill police Chief Robert Pistone has handled recent crises within the department.
The Essex County District Attorney’s Office said it could not comment on Katelyn Tully’s death due to the ongoing investigation. Pistone did not provide comment following requests from The Eagle-Tribune.
Katelyn Tully, 32, suffered an unexpected and unattended death at approximately 6:55 a.m. Sept. 26 at her home on Bartlett Avenue, according to a death certificate prepared by the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office.
The certificate lists both the cause and manner of death as pending investigation. An autopsy report has not yet been released, according to John Tully, who said he was contacted by the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office and told they were specifically looking into the condition of Katelyn’s heart.
“She died from a stress heart attack is what we’re assuming right now,” her father said.
Katelyn Tully’s death came just months after the July 11 incident involving 43-year-old Gigliotti. Gigliotti died after Haverhill Police responded to reports of him “acting erratically” around the city. Police eventually restrained him at the entrance of Bradford Seafood, 124 Winter St. Gigliotti would later become unresponsive and was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead.
Last month, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office released Gigliotti’s autopsy findings, determining the manner of death to be “homicide” and the cause as “cardiac dysrhythmia in a person with acute intoxication due to the combined effects of cocaine and ethanol while being restrained prone by police.”
Seven Haverhill officers were placed on administrative leave during the ongoing investigation. They included Katelyn Tully, her father said. The DA’s office said it would determine whether the officers’ actions were “reasonable and justified,” while family members of Gigliotti have repeatedly called for the indictment of the involved police officers.
John Tully said the officers were not given the help they needed in the aftermath of Gigliotti’s death, and that those feelings have only deepened since Katelyn’s passing.
“He showed no support,” Tully said. “It was a critical incident. Somebody (Gigliotti) passed away.”
He said Pistone did not arrange for counseling for the seven officers, nor did the chief reach out to him or his wife to express condolences after their daughter’s death.
Pistone did contact their other daughter, Amanda, Tully said. She informed the chief that he was not welcome at Katelyn Tully’s funeral. Pistone was not present at Friday’s funeral in Wilmington, John Tully said.
On Sunday, the Lawrence Patrolmen’s Association posted a sharply worded open letter on Facebook directed at Pistone and signed by the families of Haverhill police officers. The letter, shared alongside a portrait of Katelyn Tully, accuses the chief of failing to support his officers through tragedy and claims he has “not earned” the respect of those he leads.
The association later reposted the letter, adding the caption “united as one,” as the letter references the deaths of both Katelyn Tully and Lawrence Police Detective Thomas Cuddy — examples of the emotional toll faced by local law enforcement this year.
In June, Cuddy, a 21-year-veteran of the Lawrence Police Department, died after being placed on administrative leave in connection with an excess of $100,000 discovered missing from a Police Relief Fund, Chief Maurice Aguiler said in a statement.
“It is with a heavy heart that I address the situation involving one of our officers and the Lawrence Police Relief Fund. The Relief is a voluntary, post-tax, private, non-profit fund that is both contributed to and managed by participating police officers,” Aguiler stated in the wake of Cuddy’s death.
The open letter on Facebook accuses Pistone of lacking “experience, humility, and courage,” and of prioritizing his own image over his officers’ well-being.
“Every action since Officer Tully’s death has been transparent in its desperation to preserve your own power,” the letter reads. “You have not stood before your officers at roll call, not spoken to them in their grief, not asked how they are enduring. You calculate how to save face while those you command drown in grief.”
The families claim their message is supported by “hundreds” of people who are prepared to speak publicly if necessary.
Pistone, who was appointed chief in 2021, has released only one public statement since Katelyn Tully’s death — a Sept. 27 announcement confirming the passing of a Haverhill officer and offering condolences on behalf of the department.
Prior to this story, he could not be reached for additional comment on other matters by The Eagle-Tribune.
John Tully said he plans to speak at an upcoming Haverhill City Council meeting to share his concerns with its members and Mayor Melinda Barrett.
When asked what he believes would be an ideal resolution regarding Pistone and the department’s future, Tully said, “I’d like to see him gone.”