Courts & Corrections
Ex-Claremont Officer Gets Community Service for Unsworn Falsification
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Mark Burch was sentenced to 12 months at the House of Corrections, all of which is suspended for a period of two years.
InDepthNH.org (https://indepthnh.org/category/dishonest-police/page/11/)
Laurie List’s Legacy: They are called Exculpatory Evidence Schedules now, but InDepthNH.org continues its investigative reporting on the secret list that contains the names of law enforcement officers in New Hampshire who have a history of dishonesty, excessive force or mental instability. Catch up on our reporting here.
Mark Burch was sentenced to 12 months at the House of Corrections, all of which is suspended for a period of two years.
“If HB155 is signed into law, it would likely end the need for the ‘newspaper/ACLU’ lawsuit,” Rep. Paul Berch said.
Solicitor General Daniel Will: “This isn’t a case about the Department of Justice trying to protect the police or trying to be pro-police or anything like that.”
In one year, the list of dishonest law enforcement officers in New Hampshire has grown from 153 redacted names to 258.
State Rep. Paul Berch, D-Westmoreland, a retired public defender who sponsored the measure, said House Bill 153 passed Tuesday on a vote of 16-3.
If passed, the bill would make some police disciplinary records public when the officer has discharged his weapon, or was found guilty of sexual assault or dishonesty.
The president of the New Hampshire Troopers Association said there would be “unintended consequences” of opening an entire police personnel file to the public.
List includes officers who have engaged in misconduct that calls into question their truthfulness. Their names are redacted and ACLU-NH and news outlets are suing the state to make the names public.
Solicitor General Daniel E. Will said state law mandates the list be confidential.