Police Use Violence, and Abuse Authority to Get Someone Fired
Police in Manchester, NH caused a stir within the community after a fatal use of force incident, which was followed by the police chief getting someone fired for criticizing the incident.
(Protesters at Manchester’s city hall hold up signs on September 3rd.)
On June 28th, an officer from the Manchester, NH Police Department shot and killed Andrew Smith, in what was described as incident of self-defense. Smith is alleged to have drawn a pistol on an officer, which caused the officer to fire at him, ending his life. The officer in question was not injured.
“Quite frankly, he tried to kill my officer and that’s my worst thought, my worst nightmare. And thankfully my officer is going home to his family today,” Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said.
The shooting prompted a response by community members, among them members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) to speak at a public comment session of Manchester’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen on July 2nd.
“One of our largest battles has been addressing the housing crisis in this city,” said Kevin Martin, an organizer for the PSL. “During my time here, I have only seen the housing crisis worsen and the inevitable increase of homeless due to it. This is not unique to Manchester, but what is unique is Manchester’s determination to criminalize these individuals rather than address the root problem of it, which is the lack of rent control causing an increased cost of living, pricing people out of their homes.”
Martin described the fatal use of force incident as a “murder in cold blood,” and an “execution,” which thus far has not been borne out by facts provided in an ongoing investigation by the state’s Attorney General. Martin accused elected officials of having “no humanity.”
Following his comments, Police Chief Allen Aldenberg confronted Martin outside of the third floor room in Manchester’s city hall, where no cameras were recording the conversation. Aldenberg would later claim the conversation “did not go well.”
Internal emails from the police department reveal a concerted effort to have Martin fired from his job at Hometown Coffee Roasters, located at 80 Old Granite Street. That business has not responded to queries from this publication, from Manchester Ink Link, or from Girard at Large, the publication who obtained the department’s internal emails through a right-to-know request.
At the time of Martin’s dismissal from the company, he had been working there for two years. When I spoke with him, he was unemployed and had just finished volunteering in a two-week stint for the Claudia de la Cruz campaign for president. He had worked as a barista, as well as servicing the company’s wholesale accounts.
“I criticized the police department for killing someone, and the Chief of Police took it very personally,” Martin said. “After that, the chief of police took me out in the hallway and berated me, telling me I had all of my facts wrong. And then he reached out to the business, canceling their wholesale account and basically threatening Hometown to fire me because they didn’t like what I had to say.”
Martin claimed his boss acted impulsively, “without knowing the right decision.” Martin was later offered his job back, but declined.
Aldenberg’s comments, beginning on July 3rd, in his internal emails, include:
I fully respect the right of citizens to speak during the public comment period of the meetings but I have no doubt that his comments crossed the line.
I only bring this to your attention as I learned after the meeting that this person works at Hometown Coffee on Old Granite. By no means am I telling anyone what businesses you choose to patronize but I feel it is necessary to bring this to your attention.
Following Martin’s dismissal, another email was sent, including the following:
Once again (sic) Hometown is a good place to buy your coffee. The owner has addressed the issue.
Thus far, neither Aldenberg nor any other officer has faced any repercussions for their role in having Martin dismissed. Instagram posts from Hometown Coffee Roasters restricted comments on its advertisements of caffeinated beverages.
The irony here is that Martin, as part of his job servicing the business’ wholesale account, likely made countless beverages for the police department before criticizing it.
Another member of the PSL, Sebastian Rowan, made similar comments at the July 2nd meeting of Manchester’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Rowan accused the city of “stealing” half a million dollars from the city’s Parks and Recreation budget to fund the city’s police. Mayor Jay Ruais interrupted him, saying that his allegations of the police “confiscating umbrellas” of homeless people and “shooting and killing
people were not part of a civil discourse.
“It’s a fact,” Rowan responded.
Someone from the crowd called out, “Yes, it is!”
At that point, Chief Aldenberg approached spectators who had called out, leaning forward, with his hands in his pockets, while the Mayor called for order.
(Police Chief Allen Aldenberg approaches spectators during Sebastian Rowan’s comments regarding police violence. Screenshot from Manchester TV.)
Rowan had previously been tackled by police as part of an effort to disrupt a pro-Palestine protest at Manchester’s SNHU campus. After being tackled, he was then charged with resisting arrest and assaulting an officer, among other charges. As of September 3rd, two of the charges against him were dismissed. Other charges against him were pending. Rowan claimed he would plead not guilty, and expects to win his case.
In August, between 10 and 11 PM one night, police cornered a homeless individual whom they believed was attempting to relieve himself in an alleyway. Three officers, one of which had come on a motorcycle, taunted the homeless man, saying they would play a game of human hunting with him. The officers gave the man a twenty count, after which they would chase after him, arrest him, and put him in jail.
These incidents sparked a protest at the September Board of Mayor and Aldermen hearing where members of the PSL and members of another socialist group banged on buckets with sticks and shouted out slogans, one of which was “criminal cops off our streets.”
(Matei Alexandru, holding a megaphone, leads a protest against police violence in Manchester. Photo by Winter Trabex.)
Among the group’s demands were the dismissal of Chief Aldenberg, the release of names and dismissal of officers who abused a homeless man in August, and restitution to the man and/or his family.
Alderman-at-Large Joe Kelly Levasseur, who criticized the police department in 2014 leading to officers lining up in city hall asking for his resignation, this year proposed a resolution for the Board to support its police department. The resolution passed unanimously.
Alderman for Ward 3, Pat Long, and current candidate for State Senator, had not heard of Martin being fired when I interviewed him on September 6th. He also expressed support for the local police department. He offered the following comments on the human hunting incident:
“I've been there when police have moved homeless people,” Long said. “They've had needles stuck in sidewalks. I saw police behaving with the utmost respect. Out of several positives, (hunting), that's a negative.”
“When you criminalize peaceful protests like this,” a speaker at the protest, identifying themselves by the pseudonym, Crow said. “You make violent protests eventually inevitable. We’ve learned that during the civil rights area.”
While police officers did not disrupt the protest, one officer passing in a paddy wagon displayed a rude hand gesture to the protesters.
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