Pubdate: Sun, 29 Nov 2009
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2009 The Boston Herald, Inc
Contact:  http://news.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Authors: Katy Jordan And Marie Szaniszlo

KIN MOURN DAD WHO DIED IN COP CUSTODY

The relatives of a 45-year-old Worcester man who died  in police
custody after allegedly assaulting an officer  last week are reeling
with sorrow as they await answers  from a probe into the incident.

Kenneth Howe, a carpenter and barber, "was the father  of three
children, a 1-year-old, a 10-year-old and a  15-year-old, and had a
lovely wife. They are in  incredible grief," family attorney Frances
A. King, a  Boston-based lawyer, said last night.

Howe was the front-seat passenger in a car that was  stopped just
before midnight Wednesday at a North  Andover checkpoint manned by
state and town police and  the Essex County Sheriff's Department, said
Steve  O'Connell, a spokesman for District Attorney Jonathan  W. Blodgett.

A state police trooper "saw him making furtive  movements," O'Connell
said in a statement. Another  passenger later told police Howe had lit
a marijuana  cigarette and was trying to extinguish it, O'Connell
said.

When asked to exit the car, Howe "jumped out the  window, struck the
trooper and fled," O'Connell said.

After a brief foot chase and an "ensuing struggle," he  was handcuffed
and charged with assault and battery on  a police officer, O'Connell
said.

Howe was taken to the Andover state police barracks.  While he was in
the booking room, he "slumped over and  was unresponsive," O'Connell
said.

He was taken to Lawrence General Hospital, where he was  pronounced
dead at 12:45 a.m. Thursday.

Police found 15 mg of Oxycodone, for which Howe had a  prescription,
in his pocket, O'Connell said. It was  unknown whether that factored
into his death.

"The family is obviously in extreme distress and  grief," King said.
Howe, who co-owned a Clinton  barbershop, "was always helping people."

King declined to comment on any aspects of the  incident.

"At this point, we're confident the Essex County DA's  office is
conducting a thorough investigation and that  they are taking the case
very seriously," she said. "I  think it's only fair to allow the DA to
conduct an  investigation."

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted an  autopsy, but a
cause of death was not determined  yesterday. The medical examiner's
office said it plans  to conduct further tests while it awaits
toxicology  results. 
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