A copy of the report can be found here.
By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
After a mentally ill man killed an unarmed security guard at New Hampshire Hospital, New Hampshire Department of Safety Commissioner Robert Quinn announced steps to increase security at all state facilities.
“We acknowledge that there is room for improvement and security measures must evolve and adapt to current threats,” Quinn’s memo states.
Gov. Chris Sununu tasked Quinn with reviewing all security at state facilities after Bradley Haas, 63, was shot and killed at state’s psychiatric hospital – New Hampshire Hospital – on Nov. 17. Haas, a veteran police officer, was working as a security officer at the hospital when he was shot and killed by John Madore, 33.
State employees deserve to be safe when they go to work, Sununu said.
“Many employees have been shaken by this incident and in every setting, their safety is our number one priority,” Sununu said. “Providing a safe working environment is a job that is never done, however we are moving forward with all of the Department’s recommendations and will continue to assess additional necessary steps moving forward on an ongoing basis.”
A New Hampshire State Police Trooper assigned to patrol the hospital shot and killed Madore moments after Haas was shot.
Hass, despite his career in law enforcement and military experience, was unarmed when he was killed. Security guards at the psychiatric hospital are unarmed.
That will change. Under the recommendations Quinn is proposing, the state will no longer employ unarmed security guards. The Department is also replacing unarmed security guards with armed private security to provide 24/7 staffing at New Hampshire Hospital.
Quinn’s Department of Safety is responsible for security at state facilities, and commands the State Office Complex Police Force, but New Hampshire Hospital policy dictated that even SOCPF officers working in the hospital had to be unarmed.
This is another change Quinn plans to make.
“Change the NHH policy to allow SOCPF Officers to carry firearms throughout the hospital to mitigate any threats occurring within the NHH,” the memo states.
Quinn said along with arming guards and allowing police officers to be armed, the SOCPF will get pay raises in an effort to attract new officers and keep experienced staff.
Quinn’s memo lays out other changes, like new fencing, bollards to prevent vehicles from restricted areas, improved communication systems, and improved weapons detection systems. Quinn also wants the hospital to provide SWAT teams with building access codes and floor plans.
Madore entered the lobby of the hospital on the evening of Nov. 17 armed with a 9 mm pistol and shot Haas. A short time later, he was killed by the State Police Trooper assigned to the hospital, and police found a U-Haul truck Madore rented with an AR-15 type rifle, several magazines, and a tactical vest.
Madore was involuntarily admitted to the hospital in 2016 after he was deemed a danger to himself and others. That incident reportedly involved guns and threats after a domestic disturbance in his home.