Police State: Manchester & Nashua

Manch Cops Unnecessarily Intimidate Innocent People in Search for Suspect

Late last night, a police manhunt began for a suspect who allegedly shot two Manchester police officers. Even after the man was found, police set up checkpoints, pointed guns at innocent motorists, and searched vehicles. Manchester liberty activist Carla Gericke posted this rundown to her facebook today:

This morning my Manchester neighborhood was locked down with a “shelter in place” warning as armed law enforcement officers roamed the streets, purportedly in search for a white man with long hair in a trench coat who shot two officers around 2AM. Both officers are in non-critical condition. One was shot in the calf, haven’t seen any reports about the other wound yet. I wish them a speedy recovery.

 

Helicopters whirred overhead for hours. Cars were searched. Schools were closed. Blocks were closed down. There were reports that houses were being searched. I contacted my attorney to understand my 4th amendment rights should I be approached to have my house searched. I put my dog in her crate downstairs as a precautionary measure to ensure she didn’t get shot if I refused unconstitutional entry to my home.

 

Scary stuff.

 

But here’s what I want to know. According to this NH1 report, the suspect was taken into custody at 6:55AM.

 

MORE THAN THREE HOURS BEFORE the “shelter in place” was lifted around 10:15AM (although I still had a helicopter overhead about 30 minutes ago).

 

WHY? What was the purpose of having a show of force with armed men roaming the streets IF THEY ALREADY HAD THE SUSPECT IN CUSTODY?

 

The only conclusion I can come to is they wanted to be on the streets. They wanted to scare ordinary people. Maybe they wanted to remind us of their militarized equipment, their BEARCAT, their guns.

 

Maybe they wanted people to forget about the beat down their compatriots gave a man a few days ago who was lying face down on a street with his arms outstretched?

 

A full inquiry should take place to explain to residents of the West Side why OUR lives should have been disrupted like this if we still live in a free and normal society. Please explain Mayor Ted Gatsas why this happened. It is unacceptable to treat ordinary law abiding citizens like pawns in these police state games.

This, less than forty-eight hours after NH State Police viciously attacked a suspect after a chase in Nashua: