The saga continues, and it's getting interesting now. Too bad, it sounds like both sides in this are scumbags, and Nashua ends up the loser:
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Officers+being+investigated+after+complaint&articleId=ef3d4b0d-300a-4a93-81cc-f706ae1056d3
Officers being investigated after complaint
By NICHOLAS COATES
Union Leader Correspondent
7 hours, 29 minutes ago
Nashua – Following a complaint that two officers were “rude and discourteous” to family members during a robbery investigation, two police detectives are the subjects of an internal investigation and an inquiry by the County Attorney’s Office, Nashua police Chief Timothy Hefferan said yesterday.
Police Capt. Scott Howe was put in charge of the internal investigation, and Assistant County Attorney Rusty Chadwick is the point for the external investigation, Hefferan said.
Hefferan confirmed that one of the detectives is Andrew Karlis, but Hefferan declined to identify the second.
The Gannon family, of 26 Morgan St., alleged the detectives’ behavior occurred during a two-week period and came to a head with a June 23 incident on the family’s front porch.
According to police affidavits filed in Nashua District Court in connection with the arrest of family patriarch Michael Gannon, Karlis and Detective Thomas Bergeron visited the home at 11:20 that night to question a member of the family, a 15-year-old boy, about the robbery the boy was allegedly involved in.
That night, Shawn Gannon, the family’s 18-year-old son, said his family watched and listened to the tape recording of the security system that monitors the front porch and back parking lot. He said they heard the detectives having a disconcerting conversation about how they would mistreat Michael Gannon.
"We heard them pull up, and when they (Karlis and Bergeron) came up to the porch, they were talking about how my dad was a disabled veteran. Then we heard how they wanted to make him more disabled," said Shawn Gannon. "Detective Karlis said that my dad has been giving him a hard time for the past couple of days (with the investigation). And the other detective standing next to him said, 'Well, why don’t you pull him out of the house and I’ll give you my Billy club.'"
Hefferan said he had not reviewed all of the initial evidence as of yesterday, but did say he believes the allegation lacks merit.
"I’ve had superiors review the tapes, and they have not reported back to me that there is anything like that on there," Hefferan said. "I think that something that significant of a statement—a threat of physical violence—would have been something noteworthy that would have brought to my attention."
Michael Gannon, 49, was arrested Tuesday night and charged with two felony counts of violating state wiretap laws for not making the police aware of the audio recording of police visits on June 23 and 26.
Gannon went to the police station that night to find out the status of his 15-year-old son, who had been arrested earlier in connection with a June 21 mugging outside of Margaritas restaurant in Nashua, according to police affidavits.
According to the Michael Gannon’s arresting documents, once in the lobby, Gannon became “agitated and somewhat aggressive” when speaking about how Karlis and fellow detectives treated family members during the investigation into their son.
Gannon then said he wanted to log a complaint about the incident and provided a videotape with the alleged rude and discourteous police behavior on it.
Sgt. Francis Bourgeois, the officer in charge that Tuesday night, Detective Jonathan Lehto and Karlis watched the tape, according to the affidavits.
After viewing the tape, Bourgeois made the determination that Gannon broke the law and had Detective Daniel Archambault arrest Gannon at the station, according to the affidavits.
Police then went to the Gannon house and seized all of the video and audio surveillance equipment the family had set up in their home, including cameras, microphones and videocassette recorders, according to affidavits.
The Gannon family has argued that the recording was legal and done to protect their house from the various crimes in the French Hill neighborhood of Nashua.
According to the state statute that the police allege Michael Gannon violated, the party being taped must be made aware of the recording and consent to the recording, Nashua attorney Eric Wilson said.
There are two signs posted on the front and side of the house a little larger than the size of a hand that warn people about the recording. “Warning: homeland security system. Audio and video in use,” the signs say.
“If, in fact, the man (Gannon) has posted on his property informing those who enter onto the property that they are being video- and audio-taped, that satisfies the two-party consent requirement in the state,” said Claire Ebel, executive director of the state American Civil Liberties Union.
Janet Gannon said that besides the signs, her husband told visiting detectives in the past, “the first thing he said, and he said it very clearly, ‘Gentlemen, there’s a camera right there.’”
"The question to ask is: 'How do you know in the affirmative that someone has seen those signs or seen those warnings,'" Hefferan asked. "To assume that someone has given consent because there are some stickers up… it’s a quantum leap to suggest they must have given consent because they must have seen the signs. If there’s a small sign somewhere. The detectives would have been focused on the family so much they would not have noticed that there were stickers or placards up."
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