This nearly 24 minute audio includes all the radio traffic the KPD scanner received between 10pm and Midnight on April 17th, 2012. It’s everything from the initial report from Diversified Computers of noise on the roof, to the shooting of the suspect on Marlboro St., to the manhunt for the other two suspects, to the afterwards.
The Keene police scanner audio reveals that the two suspects were taken into custody AFTER the police shot the third man to death. The Sentinel’s report makes it sound like the reverse happened:
At least one person was on the roof of the building when police arrived. He and another man were taken into custody after a short pursuit, authorities said.
A man who was not captured allegedly left the area in a car and led police on a pursuit to Marlboro Street.
Their mis-reporting led FK’s Ademo to write his opinion piece, in which he assumed the Sentinel got it right and therefore makes several mistaken conclusions. Remember, as you listen to this audio, the blank spaces have been mostly excised from the piece to make it easier to listen. In the full audio, it’s more than ten minutes before officer Jennifer Uhas (118) announces she has the first suspect in custody. Less than a minute later, the second suspect is in custody as well. In their report, the Sentinel claims to have their own scanner – so why the botched reporting?
The audio is pretty intense, and Keene police for the most part, do the best they can to bring aggressors to justice, backed by four state troopers, a couple of county sheriffs, and mutual aid units from Winchester, Dublin, and Troy. Sadly, some officers opted to use deadly force to stop the third suspect from running, which seems entirely inappropriate and even reckless, far beyond the recklessness of engaging in an unnecessary high-speed chase. Police should not use deadly force to stop someone unless that person is endangering life. Of course it’s wrong to break, enter, and steal, but killing and endangering the community with gunfire and high speeds is not the answer.
Details are scarce from the scene of the shooting at this time, but it looks like some Keene police officers killed a man who was merely fleeing and not threatening anyone directly. Speculating from the scanner audio, it could have been James Lamoureux (171) and Eli Rivera (75) who pulled the trigger. Of course, this presumes the Sentinel is correct in their claim that two officers shot at the fleeing suspect. As we’ve seen, you can’t count on them to get the story right. More as this develops.
Prediction based on how these things go in other communities: Both officers are put on paid leave while the case is investigated internally. Both officers are eventually exonerated of any wrongdoing, as the “fleeing felon” rule allows cops to shoot people in the back, even if they pose no imminent threat. At least, as I understand it. Perhaps Brad Jardis will tell us more. Stay tuned to Free Keene for the latest.
Listen to the KPD scanner feed here 24/7 and on your smart phone via the free TuneIn app. As you listen, you can figure out who is who by checking officer numbers here.
