CNN 

Essex County prosecutors said yesterday that they will confer with the states top federal prosecutor over the case of a Worcester man who was fatally injured in November at a police checkpoint in North Andover.

Jonathan W. Blodgett, Essex district attorney, plans to discuss the case of 45-year-old Thomas Howe, who collapsed Nov. 25 after struggling with police from three different agencies on Route 114 in North Andover, with US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.

Yesterday, Blodgetts office released the official cause of death - blunt impact of the head and torso with compression of the chest - and the conclusion that the manner of his death was a homicide.

The medical examiner identified Howes general health as contributory causes, having concluded that he was atherosclerotic - his arteries were clogged - and that he also had hypertensive cardiovascular disease, according to the one-page document.

Blodgett and State Police detectives have been investigating the case.

Boston attorney Frances A King, who represents Howes estate, said the medical examiners conclusion supports the allegation that Howe was beaten to death by officers at the checkpoint.

She also bristled at any suggestion Howes cardiac health had any significant role in ending his life.

The cause of death is the vicious beating, the blunt force impact, King said in a telephone interview. Thats what killed Kenny. He was murdered.

King said she has reviewed 43 photographs taken by a photographer for the Eagle-Tribune newspaper who was nearby because the newspapers headquarters is in North Andover, close to where State Police, North Andover police, and Essex County deputy sheriffs had set up the checkpoint. She said the photographs span an 11-minute period.

There is absolutely no way reasonable force was used in this case, King said. He has handcuffs on part of that time and leg irons and [police] beating him to death.

Officials from the State Police and the union representing troopers both declined comment. Officials from the other agencies and their unions either declined comment or could not be reached.

There has been no change in the status of state troopers and Essex County deputy sheriffs involved. The status of the North Andover police involved was not known. No one has been charged criminally.

Steve OConnell, Blodgetts spokesman, said the prosecutor would meet with Ortiz, but would not provide any more information.

A spokeswoman for Ortiz declined comment.

Also yesterday, the medical examiners office released a statement from its general counsel, who emphasized that there is a difference between homicide and murder.

A finding of homicide does not automatically mean that a persons death is also a murder, the statement said.

The office of the chief medical examiner uses the term homicide to mean a death at the hands of another, Jacqueline Faherty, general counsel for the medical examiner, said in the statement.

She added: Determination that a death is a homicide in a particular case is not tantamount to a determination that a murder occurred in that case. A medical examiner typically does not offer an opinion regarding criminal wrongdoing or civil liability.

Authorities have said that Howe was a passenger in a truck that was stopped at the checkpoint shortly before midnight on Nov. 25.

He allegedly was uncooperative with police when asked to step out of the truck and allegedly tried to run away before being captured by officers after a brief foot chase, authorities have said.

Brought to the Andover State Police barracks, Howe appeared unresponsive around 12:45 a.m. on Thanksgiving and was taken to Lawrence General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

King said Howes widow and three children - ages 15, 10, and 13 months - have been devastated by his death.

Its a horrible, horrible situation, she said. The widow cries all the time, and the kids are having difficulty focusing in school.