Joseph Ventre

Less-than-lethal force

Officers were called at around 12:30 a.m. on a report of a man who was screaming in the street and possibly under the influence of drugs. They found him groaning unintelligibly as he rolled on the ground next to a ballfield. Officers struggled with the man as they handcuffed him. The officers held Joseph Ventre down on his stomach for about 90 seconds while cuffing his hands behind his back. An emergency responder joined them, and then he stopped yelling and died.