A 56-year-old Chelsea resident, Dominic Graffeo, died at Whidden Memorial Hospital following an encounter with Chelsea Police officers who had been dispatched to his residence after a report of an emotionally disturbed person. The investigation is being conducted by Suffolk County prosecutors and State Police detectives.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will establish the cause and manner of death for Graffeo.
All deaths in Suffolk County, including those involving police, are investigated by DA Daniel Conley’s office. The Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit holds investigative authority over deaths occurring in Chelsea, Revere, Winthrop, and State property within Boston.
According to preliminary findings, a maintenance supervisor at a Hawthorne Street rooming house contacted Chelsea Police just after 7 p.m. on Thursday evening to report that one of the residents was acting erratically and destroying property in his room. Upon arrival, officers discovered the man had barricaded himself inside. Despite efforts by a crisis negotiator to persuade him to open the door, he refused. Officers positioned on a ladder outside observed the man shirtless and bleeding heavily from wounds on his arms and legs. The Chelsea Fire Department was called to help breach the barricaded door.
The man turned violent upon entry, according to preliminary evidence. An officer used his Taser, but the man continued to resist officers until he was restrained with handcuffs.
Following the handcuffing, the man became unresponsive.
Emergency medical technicians at the scene assessed him and suspected a possible opiate overdose. They administered NARCAN before transporting him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:30 p.m.
Three Chelsea Police officers sustained injuries and were hospitalized, though their injuries were not considered life-threatening.