NH police department disciplines 4 officers for their ‘unprofessional’ treatment of a homeless man

MANCHESTER, N.H. — A New Hampshire police department’s investigation into four officers’ treatment of a homeless man earlier this year found the quartet in violation of “various internal standards of operating procedure,” officials announced Tuesday.

Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg and Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais said the four officers in question “have been disciplined accordingly” over “less-than-professional conduct” exhibited during encounters with the same homeless man on Aug. 12.

The homeless individual involved in this incident had been arrested earlier that day for preparing to inject himself with heroin in a city park during daylight hours, according to Aldenberg and Ruais. Later that same day, the officers found him in an alley, getting ready to do it again.

Video showed the officers berating the man in an expletive-filled confrontation that ended with the threat of a fake “manhunt,” the Union Leader reported at the time. Those officers also reportedly gave the man “a countdown to leave and never return to the city.”

“As the Chief of Police, I take full responsibility for the actions of these officers. I also have the responsibility to address their behavior in order to make them better police officers,” Aldenberg said in a statement. “I am fully confident that the involved officers have learned a great deal from this incident and I am certain that this behavior will not be repeated.”

Ruais thanked Aldenberg for taking swift action against the officers.

“I thank Chief Aldenberg for taking swift action to address this matter and support the disciplinary decisions he has made. As I’ve said, in order to address the challenge of homelessness we must do so in a comprehensive way, which is why we have already implemented 14 different initiatives to do just that,” Ruais said in a statement. “Enforcement of our laws and ordinances is a critical component to this and must always be done in a compassionate and empathic way with the ultimate goal of connecting an individual to resources and breaking the cycle of homelessness. If an individual wants and needs help in this city, it exists, but we cannot tolerate unlawful behavior and I will continue to support the Manchester Police Department in their work.”

While Aldenberg and Ruais credited the officers for deterring criminal activity by stopping the homeless man from injecting himself with heroin, they said the incident “will regrettably be overshadowed by the choice of words used by some officers during their duties and their overall demeanor.”

“Instead of being remembered for the positive actions they took, the unprofessional nature of their remarks overshadowed their intentions and accomplishments,” a joint news release shared by Aldenberg and Ruais stated. “Though actions should speak louder than words, in this case, the inappropriate content and delivery of some comments completely eclipsed the officers’ efforts.”

The officers involved have acknowledged that their behavior was unacceptable, according to Aldenberg and Ruais.

The city didn’t detail the disciplinary actions taken against the officers.

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