Posted on 05/13/2007 2:09:20 AM PDT by billorites
The cousin of famed skier Bode Miller who shot and killed a Franconia police officer was then shot and killed by a witness who used the slain officer's .45 caliber gun to do it.
Liko Kenney, 24, of Franconia, convicted in 2003 of assaulting Franconia Police Cpl. Bruce McKay, shot him dead Friday night and then ran over him with his Toyota, authorities said yesterday at a Concord press conference.
Passer-by Gregory W. Floyd, 49, a former Marine, witnessed the shooting and came to the officer's aid.
Floyd positioned his pickup truck to shield the fallen officer, grabbed McKay's .45 caliber gun and shot Kenney, who was in his car, holding his Colt .45 caliber handgun.
McKay's cruiser videotaped the incident. The tape shows McKay, who had not drawn his gun, being shot by Kenney, according to Attorney General Kelly Ayotte. McKay, a 12-year veteran of the Franconia Police Department, was not wearing a bullet-resistant vest.
"This is a terrible loss to our state," Ayotte said. "It once again reminds us of the difficult and dangerous work that is done every day by law enforcement of the state to protect each of us. The police officers of the state, including Cpl. McKay, are nothing short of heroes."
Gov. John Lynch directed all American and state flags be flown at half staff until further notice. Yesterday, he met with members of the Franconia community to extend his condolences and offer assistance.
Governor Lynch speaks to residents outside of the Franconia police station yesterday. "This terrible tragedy has impacted families, the Franconia area and the entire state of New Hampshire," Lynch said in a prepared statement. "My thoughts and prayers, and those of my wife, Susan, are with the family of Cpl. McKay, whose courage, service and commitment to protecting others is an example for us all."
Ayotte, Capt. Russell Conte of the State Police Major Crime Unit, and Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Strelzin, chief of the homicide division, detailed what happened Friday night when a routine traffic stop ended the lives of McKay and Kenney.
At 6:30 p.m., McKay pulled over the 1984 Toyota Celica Kenney was driving on Route 116 in Franconia for speeding and a problem with the car's registration. Caleb Macaulay, 21, Kenney's best friend and co-worker at Merrill's Agway in Littleton, was in the passengr seat.
Kenney asked for another officer to handle the traffic stop when he saw it was McKay who pulled him over, according to Conte and friends of Kenney.
McKay and Kenney had a long-standing dislike of each other, according to Kenney's friends and family. Kenney was convicted in 2003 of assaulting a police officer -- McKay -- and resisting arrest, Ayotte said.
Friday, when McKay refused to call in another officer, Kenney drove off. Rob Hayward, who said he talked with Macaulay, said Kenney drove off at a slow speed.
Conte said he did not know how fast McKay was driving when he overtook theToyota about 1 1/2 miles later on Route 116. Strelzin said McKay, who radioed in the pursuit and asked for backup, pulled his cruiser ahead of Kenney's car, forcing him to stop.
The officer then backed his cruiser into Kenney's Toyota, pushing it off the road and preventing Kenney from driving off a second time. McKay used a "small amount of force, not excessive" to move the car, Strelzin said.
The officer got out of his cruiser, walked up to the driver side of Kenney's car and pepper-sprayed both Kenney and Macauley.
Once he sprayed them, McKay walked away -- Conte said either to avoid the spray himself or to go back to his cruiser to check on something. Authorities don't know for sure.
Kenney fired his Colt .45, as McKay walked away, hitting the officer four times in the "upper trunk", according to Ayotte. She and Strelzin both said they had not seen the complete autopsy report and do not know if the officer was shot in the back or the chest. The bullet wounds killed him, according to the autopsy, they said.
McKay collapsed in the road, and then Kenney ran over him, pinning the officer under his car.
Authorities said Floyd and his son, Gregory P. Floyd, 21, were in their 4-door Tahoe and witnessed the shooting. Floyd, who told investigators he is a Marine veteran, immediately positioned his truck to shield the downed officer. Then he picked up McKay's gun, which was on the ground.
Ayotte said investigators are not sure if McKay drew his gun after he was hit by the shots or if it came loose after he was run over by the Toyota.
Floyd pointed the gun at Kenney, who was still in his car holding the Colt .45, and told him to drop the gun. When Kenney failed to comply, Floyd pulled the trigger, killing the 24-year-old man.
Ayotte said Floyd's actions appear to be a "justified use of deadly force."
Bode Miller, who once bailed his cousin out of jail, is en route to Franconia, his father said.
Merrill said Kenney was learning the job at Agway, was good with customers and had "good future here ... I think it's a shame it had to happen."
When skiers go bad?
Passer-by Gregory W. Floyd, 49, a former Marine, witnessed the shooting and came to the officer's aid.
Buy Pat Grossmith a clue ping.
McKay and Kenney had a long-standing dislike of each other, according to Kenney's friends and family. Kenney was convicted in 2003 of assaulting a police officer -- McKay -- and resisting arrest, Ayotte said.
And there's no such thing as an officer using his position of authority to "get back at" somebody when they've shamed or embarrassed them. They don't follow them around waiting for some minor traffic violations to harass them. Nah, stuff like that doesn't happen in America. >cough cough BS<
On face value it sounds like a case of "Respect ma authorita" gone horribly wrong.
Yes, and it will become impossible for bystanders or fellow officers to do such things if "individually tagged smart guns" become the required firearm type, and all others are banned--which is another of the long laundry list of anti-gun initiatives.
Maybe it was like what happened to Chuck Connors where the commanding officer broke the sword over his knee.
Or a local jury.
Snip...Selectmen Carl Belz and Rich McLeod said they know of no feud between McKay and Liko Kenney, but others in town claim the bad blood was common knowledge.
Care for pepper?
For good or bad.
This is a tragedy of epic proportions.
It will take an artist like Faulkner or Verdi to make sense of this.
About 12 years ago here in NH had similar incident with a guy named Dragua [spl?] small town, was watched very closely and still ended up killing multiple LEs and several town officials.
From personal experience, in my town we had a guy who announced many times he would have no problem killing cops.Do you think we did not watch him?
Now Phil I bet if some guy told you he had no problem killing you, you would demand the cops protect you, or would you kill him first?
I doubt that very much. Bode Miller is a low-life and everybody knows it.
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