By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
The New Hampshire State Trooper involved in a fatal shooting on Saturday, Feb. 20, in Walpole was also involved in a fatal shooting March 31, 2021, in Claremont, according to information on the Attorney General’s Office’s website.
On Wednesday, Attorney General John Formella released the name of Trooper Noah Sanctuary as the officer involved Feb. 20 shooting death of Christopher Tkal, age 57 in Walpole. The latest release didn’t mention that Sanctuary was one of six members of the New Hampshire State Police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team involved in the shooting death of Jeffrey Ely, 41, in Claremont on March 31, 2021.
In a report last year, Formella reported that Sanctuary was one of the six troopers of the New Hampshire State Police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team involved in the shooting that was deemed legally justified. The other troopers in the Claremont shooting last year were: Trooper First Class Nicholas Cyr, Trooper First Class Stefan Czyzowski, Sergeant Gary Ingham, Trooper First Class Shane Larkin, and Trooper William Neilsen, according to the attorney general’s report last year.
A copy of the final report, images and video recordings in the Claremont shooting can be found here: https://www.doj.nh.gov/news/2021.
Assistant Safety Commissioner Eddie Edwards said: “I can confirm that, as is typical following any critical incident such as this, Trooper Sanctuary has been placed on leave pending the Attorney General’s investigation.”
In Wednesday’s news release about the shooting death of Christopher TKAL in Walpole in February, Formella released the name of the trooper Noah Sanctuary and said the incident is still under investigation.
“The exact circumstances surrounding the (Walpole) incident remain under investigation. It is anticipated that the report regarding whether Trooper Sanctuary’s use of deadly force was justified will be released once the investigation is completed. No further updates are expected until the report is released,” Wednesday’s news release said.
