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May 9, 2008 7:08 pm US/Eastern
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N.H. Cop Won't Face Charges In Officer's Shooting
Investigators Say Shooting Happened During Police Training Exercise
CONCORD, N.H. (WBZ) ―
A Concord, N.H., police officer will not face charges for shooting his fellow officer, according to a newly released report by the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office.
According to prosecutors, four officers were inside the Granite State Credit Union building on Sheep Davis Road, when Sgt. Steven Smagula's gun discharged and hit a fellow officer in the chest.
It happened around 4:30 a.m. on May 1. The officer who was hit was identified as Joshua Lavasseur. Lavasseur was wearing a bullet proof vest and suffered only minor injuries.
According to the report, the incident was part of a training exercise.
Investigators said Smagula was demonstrating to the other three officers how to clear a building. He was holding the gun with both hands, and as he went to turn toward the officers, the gun went off, according to the report.
"They were getting ready to leave when one of the officers asked Sergeant Smagula a question about some of the techniques, and Sergeant Smagula started demonstrating what the training was," said N.H. Senior Attorney General Jeff Strelzin. "As he did that, he basically turned toward the officers and as he turned, his arms turned as well, and his finger basically slipped off the gun and he pulled the trigger, firing his gun."
The owners of the property were not notified of plans for a police training exercise. The report says the officers took part in the training for more than an hour and a half before getting ready to leave, which was when the shooting happened.
The Vice President of Risk and Security for the Granite State Credit Union says the Concord Police Department did not request to use their building, and they have not been told why the four officers were there in the early morning hours. Credit union officials said they had been given no information about the early morning shooting. The bank is under construction, but the doors were secure, as far as credit union officials know. They do not have an officer stationed at the building.
The Concord Fire Department told WBZ-TV that they were never called to respond to the shooting. They say the officers drove themselves to the hospital.
The officers were on duty at the time of the shooting and alleged training exercise.
Smagula has been placed on administrative leave.
In response to a citizen's questions about why the officers' names had not been released until Friday, investigators at the Attorney General's office had this response last week:
"We don't always release names immediately. It depends on the case. We don't release names until we get a hand on the facts and we're not there yet."
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