sean sumner

[David J. Bockman]

Can anyone tell me how and when sean died? I went to high school with him
and I'm seriously bummed to discover one of my best friends from that period
in my life is dead.

--
David

[Sdeel]

David J. Bockman wrote:

I'm pretty sure it was more than a couple years ago (somewhere right
before the rerelease of the Death Piggy album). I'm sure Brockie would
know the full scoop on it though. Next time I talk to him or someone
else at the Pit I'll see what I can find out for ya.

[David J. Bockman]

thanks for doing so.

"Sdeel" <sd...@dsinnovations.com> wrote in message
news:_nFD9.4105$ID2.9...@twister.southeast.rr.com...

[Nathan Laff]

Excerpt from Death Piggy liner-notes

"In the summer of 1996, I got the news that Sean had killed himself in a
prison cell in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I don't know all the details...only
the officers on duty know everything that happened that night and they
aren't talking." - Russ Bahorsky

"David J. Bockman" <djb_m...@bunabayashi.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:arn28d$a2v$1...@bob.news.rcn.net...

[clock...@gmail.com]

I realize that this is many years later, but I hope this sheds some light on things. I apologize for the length of this post. I met Sean in December of 1995. I was 18, and I had just moved to Boston. Sean was playing with a great band called Decaf. I went to hang out with him at shows very often. He used his connection in the industry to get us on guest lists for shows, and in return, I paid his cover for other shows when he was short on cash. It was a sweet deal, and I got to hang out with Gwar all night after a Boston show (December 1995) at a place that used to be called Venus De Milo. The more I hung out with him, the more I saw his agressive (albeit playful) demeanor.

One night, I got home from a new record store job, and I had 3 voice messages from him. This was prior to cell phones being the "norm". The voice mail only recorded 1 minute messages. When he ran out of time, he called back to continue his message. All in all, I had 3 messages. The jist was that he had gotten us on the guest list to a Sparklehorse show at the Middle East in Cambridge, and he needed a few bucks to get into a TT the Bears show that same night. He rambled on over a few minutes. By the time I got the message, it was after midnight. I hated having missed the Sparklehorse show, but I figured I'd touch base with Sean the next day.

Instead, I got a call from our mutual friend Mike that Sean was dead. The report I got, was that he had been arrested for assaulting someone at the Middle East show. While in jail, he made a noose from his t-shirt, and he called it quits. I can't vouch for the details of what really happened out there. I can only vouch for the fact that had called me and asked me to meet him out there. I wish I had made it. Perhaps I could have at least tried to prevent what ever went down out there.

The whole thing was pretty surreal. It took about a year before I finally stopped seeing him out of the corner of my eye. Anyone who had a similar coat or haircut made me double take, and almost say hello.

RIP, Sean. Thanks for the memories...

Sincerely,
Shawn Morin

[clock...@gmail.com]

On Saturday, November 23, 2002 12:06:08 AM UTC-5, David J. Bockman wrote:

[nsumner...@gmail.com]

Dear Friends of Sean Sumner,

Sean did NOT commit suicide. He died from an allergic reaction (drowning, essentially) from the heavy dose of pepper spray he was given at the booking desk inside the Western Avenue Police Station.

Sean was at the Middle East to see friends in the band that evening. He was cruising alone, had no money for drinks or drugs. He was unfamiliar with Boston and did not realize he was close to his current girlfriend's apartment.

Cambridge noticed him alone and looking Hispanic pounding on the door of the Middle East after it closed. He was trying to find the keys to the apartment he was supposed to go back to. The police picked him up claiming that someone in the Middle East had called them to interfere, but no staff were present. I confirmed that with the owner less than 48 hours later, so I knew the police had just picked him up and beat him up.

At the station, he was pepper sprayed and put into an unmonitored cell, though monitored cells were vacant. One officer found him screaming with pain from the pepper spray in the facial abrasions from police beating. She called the EMTs, but they were turned away from the door of the station and told they were not needed. The EMT report concealed the fact that they had not actually seen the victim. The coroner's office concealed the fact that Sean had died from asphyxiation--lungs filled with fluid from the allergic reaction.

Police regulations at the time required that both the victim sprayed and the officer who had done the spraying must be taken to Cambridge Hospital within minutes of the spraying. This was not done, obviously. The Cambridge Police Review Board was unable or unwilling to obtain from the Police department at the time what regulations were in effect at that time. They refused to subpoena the records or regulations.

Sean was found a few minutes later with a noose braided from strips of his heavy skate board shorts around his neck.

All relevant evidence has been preserved. Only the Cambridge Chronicle covered this story.

For additional information or comments, please contact nsumner...@gmail.com. Sean is still loved and missed, and any communications from Sean's circle of friends and fellow musicians et. al are welcome. He has a nephew named after him, and he has a similar passion for music and the joy of living.

Aloha,

Mom