Shooting To The Top (Part. II)

On July 5, 2014, Nicholas Kalhonen, an average citizen of Nashua, was handling a firearm in his apartment when he negligently fired off a round.  The round traveled through the wall and into a neighboring apartment.  Officers from Nashua Police Department responded to the scene and investigated.  Kalhonen was subsequently arrested and charged with Felony Reckless Conduct.  (See Receipts for news article and RSA 631:3) 

This charge was appropriate given that Reckless Conduct is a misdemeanor unless it involves a firearm or other deadly weapon.  Then it becomes a felony.  Each year, someone has a negligent discharge, and they are subsequently charged with Felony Reckless Conduct.  Although often referred to in the media as an “accidental discharge,” they are more accurately referred to as a “negligent discharge” by those in law enforcement and the military.  For a firearm to go off by accident, it would require a mechanical failure in the weapon, which rarely happens.  These events almost always boil down to negligence: Someone pulled a trigger when they shouldn’t have.

In the above case, Nashua PD issued a press release because the public needs to be made aware of such events.  The arrest of a person behaving negligently and dangerously is newsworthy.  The public should know that authorities are taking the necessary action to ensure such dangerous events are not repeated. Unfortunately, not all agencies feel the same way... 

According to sources in State Police Troop E, on October 25, 2022, Trooper John Harris was cleaning his Colt M-4LE patrol rifle at the barracks.  He was providing maintenance to this weapon in preparation for the Troop E inspection by Colonel Noyes, which was to occur the following day.  Sitting with Trooper Harris was his trainee, Probationary Trooper William Spain. (Harris is a Field Training Officer.)  In the very next room was another junior Trooper, Jevin Fortin.  

After cleaning his weapon Trooper Harris allegedly on-boarded a fully loaded magazine, and pulled the charging handle, chambering a round. He then disengaged the safety and pulled the trigger.  The weapon fired.  The bullet left the muzzle of the rifle at just under 3,000 feet per second. It traveled up into the ceiling of the basement of Troop E.  Fortunately, the projectile essentially shattered upon impacting a heating duct.  Had it stayed intact, it could have easily penetrated the floor of the DMV Offices situated directly above.  The sound in the Trooper’s Room was deafening.   

(In an ironic twist of fate, Trooper Harris’ negligent discharge occurred at the very same conference table where, 5 months later, Commissioner Quinn would try to bully Gary Brockney into recanting his story about how Quinn held Brockney’s motor vehicle registration hostage until Brockney agreed to remove conservative political signs from it.  Maybe there is something about that table: One fool shot his rifle at it, and another fool shot off his mouth. Forgive the tangent.)

Troop E is in Tamworth, a town with a population greater than 3,000 and its own police department.  As such, a negligent discharge of a firearm within an occupied building should have been reported to local law enforcement.  If Tamworth does not have an officer on duty, calls for service in Tamworth are relayed to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.  Despite the dangerous, reckless, and felonious nature of this event, it would appear no such call was made to any outside law enforcement agency, to include the NH Department of Justice Public Integrity Unit.  

Regardless of the lack of an independent criminal investigation by a neutral and detached agency, surely the Division conducted a comprehensive internal investigation and issued corrective action for Trooper Harris, right? It would appear not.  According to sources in Troop E, Trooper Harris regularly brags to his colleagues that no official internal investigation was done, and he received essentially no discipline.  (Troopers can be disciplined for very minor offenses, such as neglecting to polish their boots or wearing a wrinkled uniform.)  Again, Nicholas Kalhonen of Nashua was arrested and charged with Felony Reckless Conduct for the exact same act: negligently discharging a firearm within an occupied building.  According to Trooper Harris himself, he is apparently facing no criminal charges and no professional discipline.  

According to those same Troop E sources, Harris’ supervisor, Sergeant Nick Lavesque was on duty at the time of the shooting.  Sgt. Lavesque allegedly told Harris not to worry about it.  It appears Lavesque was correct in his assessment: Negligently firing a weapon in an occupied building is not an issue with the Division of State Police.

The NH Attorney General’s Office has a Public Integrity Unit that is tasked with investigating wrongdoing by law enforcement.  Where were they last October?  They were busy investigating a Concord Officer for illegally querying driver records. Question for the reader: Would you rather have a cop look up your driving history without reason, or recklessly fire off rounds right next to you in an occupied building?  Now, guess which one the AG’s Office investigates and prosecutes?

According to Trooper Harris’ LinkdIn page, he came to the Division in 2018 after spending three years with the Raleigh, North Carolina Metro PD.  Given the egregious nature of this act and Harris’ laissez faire attitude about it, RobbiLeaks requested his disciplinary records from Raleigh Metro.  (See Receipts) Should these become available, they will be added to this post. 

Because this incident occurred the night before the Troop inspection, Colonel Noyes was aware of it within hours, if not minutes.  If Colonel Noyes knew about it, it is a certainty that Commissioner Quinn also knew about it.  Once again, the lack of ethics and transparency by this “less than dynamic duo” is staggering. Despite their efforts at yet another cover-up, most of the Division apparently knew about it within a week.  Noyes and Quinn don’t seem to realize it is 2023 and not 1991. Everyone has a cell phone.  Thus, everyone can photograph, call, text, email, share and post these incidents to social media.  The days of keeping secrets and hoping no one ever finds out are over.  

Maybe Quinn and Noyes will deny it ever happened, like they did with Gary Brockney’s registration.  In the Brockney incident, the phone call logs served as irrefutable proof it did occur. In this case, it is damage to the ceiling of the Troop E Conference Room.  It is hard to tell which would be hollower: A denial from Quinn and Noyes, or that bullet hole.

Fairness. Professionalism. Integrity.

Post Script:  In a case of pure serendipity, WMUR just reported that a Gilmanton man was arrested on Sunday night for, you guessed it, negligently discharging a firearm in his house while others were present.  (See WMUR article in receipts) Matthew Walter was arrested and charged with Felony Reckless Conduct after firing the weapon.  Ironically, the Town of Gilmanton is within the geographical area covered by Troop E and patrolled by Trooper Harris. 

Sometimes this stuff just writes itself.