Report clears cops in Celtic fan's death

• Tweet

BOSTON, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- The parents of a Boston Celtics fan say they don't buy the results of an investigation into the death of their son during the team's 2008 title celebration.

An independent panel Tuesday released its findings in the case, which concluded Boston police could have handled the situation better but otherwise were not to blame for the death of 22-year-old David Woodman.

Woodman suffered a fatal heart arrhythmia attack while in custody during the raucous festivities at Fenway and Brookline.

"I think they're lying," Woodman's mother, Cathy Woodman, told reporters. "In my opinion … those nine officers, the ones who handled him and the ones who witnessed, are to blame for his death."

The Boston Globe said Wednesday that the report concluded that Woodman, who had been detained for drinking in public, should have been better supervised while in custody. It noted officers falsely told paramedics Woodman had collapsed in front of them when it turned out he had been in custody on the ground for as long as five minutes before anyone noticed he was in distress.