FBI to probe death of fan

At issue is use of excessive force

Officers realized that David Woodman, 22, was not breathing as he lay face-down handcuffed on the street.

The FBI announced yesterday that it will look into whether Boston police officers used excessive force while arresting David Woodman, but not until after police and Suffolk County prosecutors finish their investigation into the death of the 22-year-old former Emmanuel College student who was arrested during the Celtics championship celebration and stopped breathing while in custody.

"We will take a look at all of the facts once they are available; then we will decide what further steps, if any, need to be taken," said Gail Marcinkiewicz, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Boston, adding that the agency is also awaiting Woodman's autopsy results, which are not completed.

She said it is not unusual for the FBI to review such a case, because one of the agency's top priorities is investigating civil rights violations, which would include the use of excessive force by police.

"A violation of federal law occurs when it can be shown the force used was wilfully unreasonable or excessive," Marcinkiewicz said. "That's how you determine if it rises to the level of a federal investigation, and that's why it's important to wait until getting all of those various reports and to take a look at them to determine whether it meets that criteria."

A Boston lawyer who represents the Woodman family urged the FBI and the US attorney's office last week to launch an independent investigation, contending that the police should not be trusted to investigate their own.

But Marcinkiewicz said the FBI has decided to review reports and findings from the probe conducted by state prosecutors and police before deciding whether a federal civil rights investigation is warranted. There is no timetable for the probe.

US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan's office declined to comment and he could not be reached.

"I wish they would get involved earlier, but I can understand, given their resources, that the FBI would want to see what the investigation reveals or doesn't reveal to determine whether they should get involved," said Howard Friedman, the Boston lawyer who represents Woodman's parents, Jeffrey and Cathy of Southwick. "I'm pleased they are willing to look at it."

Elaine Driscoll, a police spokeswoman, said the commissioner welcomes the FBI's review. "We will be fully cooperative," she said.

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, who is conducting an investigation with police homicide detectives into Woodman's death, has an excellent relationship with the agent who heads the FBI's Boston office and "will be happy to supply him with the results of our investigation, as well as to help determine whether federal charges apply," said Jake Wark, a spokesman for Conley's office.

On June 18, Woodman, a Brookline resident, had just left a bar in Kenmore Square, where he had watched the Celtics victory and played pool with friends, when he and four friends passed a group of nine uniformed officers at Fenway and Brookline Avenue, far from the riotous crowds around the TD Banknorth Garden celebrating the championship.

One of Woodman's friends, who spoke to the Globe on the condition he not be named, said that as Woodman passed the officers he said, "Wow, it seems like there's a lot of crime on this corner."

Police confronted Woodman, who was carrying a plastic cup of beer, and slammed him to the ground, according to the friend. He said Woodman's friends could not see what happened next because officers warned them to leave or they would be arrested. Woodman was charged with public drinking and resisting arrest.

Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis, who has ordered an independent review of Woodman's death by a former federal prosecutor, said it does not appear that police used excessive force.

He said officers realized that Woodman was not breathing some time after 12:47 a.m., as he was lying face-down handcuffed on the street, and immediately removed the cuffs, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and called for an ambulance.

But Woodman's parents accuse police of not getting him prompt medical attention, saying that doctors at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center told them later he had suffered significant brain damage due to a lack of oxygen.

He died at the hospital June 29. Woodman had a preexisting heart condition, but led an active life, according to his parents.

Last week, Davis announced that he had asked Donald K. Stern, the former US attorney who is now in private practice, to review Woodman's death.

Stern was head of a panel that reviewed the death of Victoria Snelgrove, a 21-year-old Emerson College student who died in 2004 during a Red Sox World Series celebration after a police officer fired a pepper pellet that struck her in the eye.

Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com.