By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
Mark Clermont, the Whitefield man killed during a December gun battle with New Hampshire State Trooper Matthew Merrill, was a felon who was paranoid, known to carry an assault-style rifle and wear a ballistic vest while hunting for alien spacecraft, according to Associate Attorney General Jeffrey Strelzin.
Clermont, 45, was shot and killed outside a home in Dalton after he shot Merrill twice during an incident that started as a traffic stop but turned into a gun fight with more than 30 bullets fired in a four-minute span, Strelzin said during Wednesday’s briefing on the shooting.
Merrill’s actions in defending himself and killing Clermont have been determined to be legally justified, according to Deputy Attorney General Jane Young.
Clermont was described as big-hearted and intelligent by friends, though that changed last year. That’s when he started saying he was being watched, that he knew things the government did not want him to know, that he could see alien spacecraft, and that the water was drugged, Strelzin said. Clermont had a history of drug use, including methamphetamines.
Clermont was prohibited from owning firearms because of past felony convictions, yet he had a .45-caliber pistol and kept the AK-47 style rifle in a duffle bag he was known to carry. The assault-style rifle had no special numbers, and investigators do not know where it came from, or how he got his other weapons.
After 9 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2020, Merrill saw Clermont speeding while he was on patrol on Route 135, Strelzin said. Merrill did not know this at the time, but Clermont was also prohibited from driving due to convictions for being a habitual traffic offender, Strelzin said.
Strelzin said it is possible that Clermont was out looking for alien spacecraft that night. Clermont had also told friends he would never go back to jail, Strelzin said.
Clermont refused to pull over when Merrill tried to stop him for speeding, and instead drove to a friend’s house on Bridge Hill Road. Clermont stopped his car and got out approaching Merrill’s cruiser in the driveway, an aggressive move that put the trooper on edge, Strelzin said. Merrill got out of his car with his pistol un-holstered and pointed it at Clermont.
Clermont refused orders to stop and instead tried to get into his friend’s home. Strelzin said Merrill was concerned about what could be waiting inside the home, holstered his gun and went to physically stop Clermont.
Clermont’s friends were not inside; they were in a shed they used for recreation, according to Strelzin.
When Merrill grabbed him from behind, both men fell to the ground. That’s when Clermont first shot Merrill in the abdomen, just below the officer’s ballistic vest. Clermont got on top of the trooper and put his .45 to the back of Merrill’s head. Strelzin said Clermont may have tried to shoot Merrill then and the gun did not fire.
The full Attorney General’s report and audio clips can be reviewed here. https://www.doj.nh.gov/multimedia/dalton-ois.htm
Merrill’s account of the next four minutes is somewhat confused, as he was going increasingly numb and had difficulty breathing. Merrill fired back, but somehow his service pistol was unloaded as the magazine had come out. He managed to get to his cruiser and radio for help, but he did not know if the call was received due to the radio signal in the isolated area.
During this time, Clermont fired dozens of rounds at Merrill, according to Strelzin. Clermont tried to get into the shed, but his friends drove him out, one hitting Clermont in the head with butt of a machete. They were afraid of Clermont and his actions, according to Strelzin.
Merrill made his way across the street looking for cover and was losing feeling. He did not know when or if help would arrive. He also lost confidence in his pistol.
That’s when the trooper opened the trunk of his cruiser with the remote key fob and got his rifle. Clermont continued shooting at the trooper from a position up the driveway, and when Merrill turned on the flashlight for his rifle, Clermont used that to target the trooper, hitting him in the foot.
Merrill, a member of the SWAT team and National Guard veteran, stayed behind his cruiser and was able to use the optical device on his rifle to spot Clermont up the driveway. He then fired two times.
Believing that the second shot may have hit Clermont, and continuing to have trouble breathing, Merrill went to a nearby house and got help. More troopers were on the scene soon, and found Clermont dead, Strelzin said.
Merrill is still recovering from his injuries, Strelzin said, but he intends to return to work as soon as he can.
New Hampshire State Police Colonel Nathan Noyes praised Merrill’s actions that night.
“Trooper Matthew Merrill acted honorably and heroically in the face of incredible danger and I am grateful that his health continues to improve every day. Trooper Merrill’s actions are a testament to his courage in the face of adversity,” Noyes said in a statement.