SEABROOK, New Hampshire (NEWS CENTER) -- Seabrook Town Manager Bill Manzi said two officers, Mark Richardson and Adam Laurent, have been fired. A third officer, Keith Dietenhofer was suspended for two days without pay and a fourth, Lieutenant John Wasson, has been demoted to patrolman.
The disciplinary actions are the end result of a four month investigation into a videotaped incident showing excessive force against Mark Bergeron, then 19, of Seabrook, New Hampshire.
The police surveillance video, shot on a wall mounted camera inside the Seabrook Police station, shows Richardson slamming him up against a wall head first followed by Officer Laurent spraying Bergeron in the face with pepper spray.
The internal review concluded that excessive force was used, pepper spray was not necessary, and Bergeron, who was arrested that night for a DUI, was not posing an imminent threat to the officers at the time. "It's a dark cloud over us," said Chief Lee Bitomske. "In my 33 years on the department this is the most severe disciplinary action that's ever been taken at one time."
In addition to disciplinary action, the Seabrook Police Department has been ordered to do a complete review of all policies and procedures and make recommendations to the town on how to improve them to prevent brutality from happening again.
The victim's mother, Joyce Bergeron, thanked the police, town selectmen and town manager for their follow through. "it's been hard," said Bergeron. " I'm just glad it's over. It's a relief."
Mike Bergeron is currently in custody on unrelated charges.
Of the four officers who were reprimanded, only former officer Richardson faces criminal charges. He was indicted by a New Hampshire Grand Jury in April on a simple assault charge. That case has not gone to trial
