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Main Page Bill To Name Highway For Slain Officer Causes Furor
(Click here to view the original thread on the MassCops Message Board)

Posted by: Inspector

CONCORD, NH – A bill to name a stretch of Interstate 93 in Franconia Notch for a fallen police officer got a tough reception at a House committee hearing yesterday.
A one-mile stretch of I-93 at the top of Franconia Notch would be named for Franconia Police Cpl. Bruce McKay, under a bill sponsored by Rep. Martha McLeod, D-Franconia. McKay, 48, father of a 9-year-old daughter, was shot to death in May by Liko Kenney, 24, after a traffic stop for an expired registration.

McKay

Kenney, cousin of Olympic skier Bode Miller, was shot and killed at the scene by a passerby who witnessed the shooting. The Attorney General's Office said that shooting, by Gregory Floyd, was a justifiable use of deadly force.
The incident divided the town of Franconia into two camps, one which feels McKay should be honored and recognized, the other which believes he pushed Kenney, whom he knew well, to the breaking point with aggressive police action.

Some who spoke in opposition yesterday said the shooting and the conflict it represents are too fresh. Several complained that McLeod never told a community reconciliation committee that she was sponsoring the bill, which was in process since the fall.
Members of the Public Works and Highways Committee said they received a flood of e-mails in the past few days that oppose the measure.
Other witnesses spoke highly of McKay, his dedication to the community, and the need to honor officers who give their lives in the line of duty. Several co-sponsors of the legislation said they and many others were moved to tears at McKay's funeral. They noted he helped arrest the killers of Epsom Police Officer Jeremy Charron, and responded to the Carl Drega shooting rampage in Colebrook in 1997.
"What is too soon? Who decides that?" asked Rep. Alfred Baldasaro, R-Londonderry. "I'm not a psychiatrist. Ask his daughter that, 'When is too soon?'"
Sharon Davis-McKay, McKay's fiancee, asked McLeod to sponsor the bill. She said McKay was killed in "an untimely and brutal murder." She said the area around Cannon Mountain and Echo Lake were McKay's favorite, and were part of his regular patrol route.
"He should always be remembered as a father and as a protector of community life," she said.
McLeod said she was surprised by the uproar the bill created.
"I had no idea there would be this kind of controversy," she said.
Rep. Gregory Sorg, R-Easton, said McKay created the situation that led to his death, and said honoring him, "would debase the currency of police heroism in this state."
Dr. Virginia Jeffryes, who chairs the reconciliation committee, asked the committee to put the bill aside so the group can have at least a full year to bring the community closer together.
Paul White, a member of the Easton selectmen, opposed the bill saying, "Easton has been left out of the loop."
Death in the line of duty as a police officer, he said "does not give you the automatic right to a memorial of any kind."
Beth Towle Kenney, Liko Kenney's sister-in-law, said many in the community feel they still haven't gotten all the information they have requested from police and investigators. She described the emergence of the bill as "a stab in the back . . . It's not going to encourage healing."
Mickey deRham of Sugar Hill filed a petition signed by 113 area residents who oppose the bill. "I move that it be shelved and buried permanently," she said.
The committee plans to work on the bill in coming weeks.

Union Leader

Posted by: chiefwiggum

what the fuck is wrong with the people of that town?????

Posted by: Sniper

Cow Hampshire..................

Posted by: SinePari

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inspector

Rep. Gregory Sorg, R-Easton, said McKay created the situation that led to his death

So it was the officer's fault for Kenney's expired registration???

Posted by: kwflatbed

For anyone who does not know the story:

http://www.masscops.com/forums/searc...earchid=474974

Links to the MassCops threads

Posted by: kojack1

They should name the highway after McKay, then name the adjoining section of the roadway after Floyd for killing that maggot Kenney!!!!

Posted by: justanotherparatrooper

Quote:

Originally Posted by kojack1

They should name the highway after McKay, then name the adjoining section of the roadway after Floyd for killing that maggot Kenney!!!!

Posted by: CJIS

+2

Posted by: kwflatbed

Never mind a section of the highway,they should rename the whole highway after them.

The McKay-Floyd Thruway

Posted by: Barbrady

+1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inspector

Rep. Gregory Sorg, R-Easton, said McKay created the situation that led to his death, and said honoring him, "would debase the currency of police heroism in this state."

Are you fckn kidding me? Tell us how you really feel.

Grafton- District 03
Seat #:4061
Incumbent
Home Address:
129 Gibson Road
Easton, NH 03580-5603
Phone: (603)823-8856
Email: N/A

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/hous...?member=376527

Posted by: PearlOnyx

Sadly, this dirt bag state representative doesn't have an email address. Nothing justifies the killing of a police officer, nothing.

Posted by: kwflatbed

Representative Gregory Sorg

R - NH (11)

Home Office

129 Gibson Road
Franconia, NH 03580
Phone: (603) 823-8856
Fax: (603) 823-8068

Email Gregory Sorg

gregorysorg@aol.com

Posted by: Dr.Magoo

Another reason not to visit NH anymore. I'll spend my hard earned $$$ elsewhere.

Posted by: pahapoika

saw the video for the first time on the news last night and it looked like the officer was dealing with this maggot like a common nuisance.

unfortunately the little bastard had murder on his mind. how some people in that town have the balls to justify the killing of a police officer is mind boggling

Posted by: Irish Wampanoag

Quote:

Originally Posted by kojack1

They should name the highway after McKay, then name the adjoining section of the roadway after Floyd for killing that maggot Kenney!!!!

Posted by: PearlOnyx

Anybody else get an email back from this guy? I was surprised when he emailed me back today. While I won't post the entire email here, the basic gist of it was that he knows more about the situation than me, and Corporal McKay provoked the incident and caused his own death. Very sad that in this day and age a politician can hold a position like this.

Interestingly, if you google Representative Sorg, you also find that he is involved in represenating another State Representative as an attorney, claiming that police do not have the authority to conduct a traffic stops on state legislators while en route to buisiness. He is also the author of a bill which would require New Hampshire judges to instruct juries that they have the right to completley ignore the applicable law, and find defendant's not guilty even if they clearly find that the law was violated if they feel that the defendant was treated unfairly. What a joke!

Posted by: kwflatbed

I got one too, my reply back to him was that he must be related to the inbreds.

Posted by: BPD3352

:l:

Posted by: Barbrady

Quote:

Originally Posted by PearlOnyx

Interestingly, if you google Representative Sorg, you also find that he is involved in represenating another State Representative as an attorney,

Gee, I wonder if the reason he knows more about the situation is because he represented the clown after one of his many run-ins. KW, could be right its just a big goofy inbred family...at least a reason why they are not too bright.

Posted by: Inspector

By Loren Dorgan CONCORD MONITOR

Calling the push to rename a portion of Interstate 93 after slain Police Cpl. Bruce McKay the most controversial commemorative effort they'd ever seen, legislators moved yesterday to put the bill on hold until they've studied it more.
McKay, 48, a Franconia police officer, was shot and killed after a traffic stop May 11, 2007. The shooter, Liko Kenney, 24, of Easton was then killed by a passer-by. The two deaths have split the community, where Kenney's family is well-known and where McKay was a longtime officer whose file contained 30 letters of thanks and praise as well 10 complaints, many of which called him hostile and overaggressive.
A bill submitted to the House Public Works Committee would have named a two-mile stretch of I-93 that runs through Franconia Notch the Corporal Bruce McKay Memorial Parkway. Yesterday, the committee voted 15-0 to recommend keeping the bill for further study. That move must be ratified by the entire House.
"It's just a very difficult situation, and we just want to honor this police officer, and we want to do it right," said Rep. Candace Bouchard, the Concord Democrat who chairs the committee. "We think this is the best path to go."
Veteran members of the Public Works Committee said they'd never seen a naming bill generate so much controversy, in the form of testimony for and against, letters from Franconia and beyond, and an opposing petition left at the Franconia Village Store that gathered more than 100 signatures.
"I've never seen a bill before our committee that's generated so much mail, especially a naming bill," said Rep. John Cloutier, a Claremont Democrat. He added: "If it were my community, I wouldn't want a committee like ours ramming a bill . . . through that half the community was divided on."
Cloutier said he hoped that they could come up with a compromise by next session. One option discussed yesterday was substituting Route 118 for I-93, because the committee has never renamed a portion of the interstate and wasn't sure the precedent that would set, said Rep. David Campbell, a Nashua Democrat.
The committee member who represents Easton said he entered yesterday's meeting planning to introduce a motion to kill the bill but that he would vote for more study - even though he doesn't support it - so the measure could get matter "a little more sunshine."
"I've had ample amount of signatures and requests for this bill not to pass," said Edmond Gionet, a Lincoln Republican. "I don't want my constituents to feel that I'm selling them short. . . . They took it upon themselves in masses to ask me not to support the bill."
Before the vote, McKay's fiancée, Sharon Davis-McKay, wrote an op-ed piece for the Monitor in which she called him a dedicated officer who deserved the same kind of commemoration that other police officers have had.
"Bruce's service as a public servant and his unwavering commitment and dedication to protecting the community of Franconia speaks for itself," she wrote. "Without law enforcement a small town would be victimized by the intimidation and anarchy of those who think they need not abide by the law."
After yesterday's hearing, Davis-McKay declined to comment to the press, although she did question committee members about why they held off on the bill.
Committee members said that their policy on renaming roads has always been to follow the wishes of the local area.
"This committee has never approved or denied a request for . . . any naming situation, where there have been mixed feelings," said Rep. Gene Chandler, a Bartlett Republican and former chairman of the public works committee.

Posted by: PearlOnyx

I usually don't get annoyed by this stuff, but for some reason I decided to invest some time in it. You can find the NH Attorney General's report on the incident, dash cam video of the murder, dash cam video of a previous arrest, and in car video of a previous incident. All things point to this kid was an anti-authority menace to society. Evidentally locals support this kind of behavior "en masse".

Posted by: Barbrady

Quote:

Originally Posted by PearlOnyx

You can find the NH Attorney General's report on the incident, dash cam video of the murder, dash cam video of a previous arrest, and in car video of a previous incident.

You're gonna make me work for it huh pearl?

Quote:

Originally Posted by PearlOnyx

All things point to this kid was an anti-authority menace to society. Evidentally locals support this kind of behavior "en masse".

Yeah apparently they do not care for the proactive cop up yondah.

Posted by: Eamonn Wright

The peace loving, free-spirited Liko Kenney was also locked up for chasing his aunt around her cabin with a chain saw after an argument. I wonder why we don't read this in all the accounts, but we do hear about Officer McKay's "issues"?

Posted by: JoninNH

If I am not mistaken, this particular representative is a Free State Project nutjob.

((Greg Sorg/State Rep.: "I hate to say this and I could have said this privately if I had been consulted about this billed before it was filed but I Corporal McKay had acted in a more professional manner, and not been so gun-ho to yank the chain of young Mr. Kenney, they would both be alive today."))

This was on a Vermont TV Station on 10JAN.

Posted by: JoninNH

Mr. XXXXX:

So? Again I ask you, Where do you claim to have read or heard that I ever claimed that either Corporal McKay's or anyone else's murder was justified? I'm not asking for your subjective inferences drawn from what I said, I am asking for a statement of FACT.

You said "I am very disheartened and upset that you could ever claim that someone's murder is justified." Either show me where and when I did that, or admit your inaccuracy. Put up or shut up.

Rep. Gregory M. Sorg

In a message dated 1/19/2008 11:30:01 AM Eastern Standard Time, XXX@yahoo.com writes:

Mr. Sorg,

You were quoted as follows "Rep. Gregory Sorg, R-Easton, said McKay created the situation that led to his death, and said honoring him, 'would debase the currency of police heroism in this state.'" You were also quoted on a Vermont TV station as saying the following: "I hate to say this and I could have said this privately if I had been consulted about this bill before it was filed but if Corporal McKay had acted in a more professional manner, and not been so gung-ho to yank the chain of young Mr. Kenney, they would both be alive today."

Jon XXXXX

Gregorysorg@aol.com wrote:
Mr. XXXXX:

I never claimed that either Corporal McKay's or anyone else's murder was justified. Where do you claim to have read or heard that I did?

Rep. Gregory M. Sorg

In a message dated 1/19/2008 1:17:01 AM Eastern Standard Time, XXX@yahoo.com writes:
Representative Sorg,

I am very disheartened and upset that you could ever claim that someone's murder is justified. Corporal McKay was doing his job as a law enforcement officer, stopping a vehicle when he was brutally murdered by Liko Kenney. I am disgusted by your comments and even though I am a lifelong Republican, an active Republican with money to contribute, I will do everything in my power to ensure that you are defeated when your term expires. Even if that means electing a Democrat.

Sincerely,

Jonathan XXXXX

Posted by: Delta784

"Put up or shut up"?

Real professional.

Posted by: JoninNH

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delta784

"Put up or shut up"?

Real professional.

Maybe he's looking to become the next Chief of Police in Quincy.

Posted by: adroitcuffs

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoninNH

Maybe he's looking to become the next Chief of Police in Quincy.

Ooohhhhhhh!

Posted by: JoninNH

http://doj.nh.gov/publications/nrele...oniareport.pdf

For those of you interested in the AG's report.

Posted by: PearlOnyx

Barbrady,

I'm sorry I didn't post the links. Posting it on here was kind of an after thought and I had already closed the window.

NH,

He is a rude unprofessional little character isn't he? I've actually asked him to stop emailing me, because he's blown up my email box with name calling ingnorant garbage for the last week or so. I'm going to have to get an Internet restraining order on him soon =)

Posted by: kwflatbed

My e-mail was loaded with A-Hole mails too, he was very upset that I called him inbred LOL

Posted by: JoninNH

I wrote my two US Senators via friends I have in their respective offices asking if it would be possible to name a section of road (perhaps of I-89) federally since the NH General Court has dropped the ball.

I wrote back a reply to Rep. Dingledorf and I have yet to recieve a reply. I guess since I was articulate and used big words he has to go find someone to translate it into rutter.

Mr. XXXXX:

I do indeed "have strong negative opinions regarding Corporal McKay and the traffic stop that ultimately ended in murder." That does not mean that I consider his murder justified. It merely means that I believe that Corporal McKay exercised poor professional judgment - after Liko Kenney yelled at McKay something to the effect of "Send someone else!" and fled from the stop - in choosing to pursue him. McKay knew from their previous encounters that Kenney was volatile and irrational and that Kenney feared and hated him, and he knew, also, that there was a passenger in Kenney's car whose safety could be jeopardized if he pushed this otherwise routine traffic stop over an expired registration into a major confrontation.

I, and many of my neighbors in Easton, Sugar Hill and, yes, Franconia, believe that McKay, knowing what he knew of Kenney, at that point should have resumed his interrupted journey to Franconia, sworn out a criminal complaint against Kenney, and let the criminal justice system take it from there. Instead, McKay gave in to his embarrassment and anger and took off after Kenney, who was merely returning home from work, and who may have believed - given their history and his known irrationality - that McKay's stop of him was made only for the purpose of harassing him. We believe that McKay put his professional training aside and allowed his personal animus towards Kenney to control his actions, for which lapse in judgment he paid a terrible price.

Corporal McKay's murder was a tragedy, but the way in which it came about, in my view and in the view of the Kenney family and many of my and their friends and neighbors, makes it fall short of being heroic and worthy of a permanent memorial.

Rep. Gregory M. Sorg

In a message dated 1/20/2008 2:02:37 AM Eastern Standard Time, XXX@yahoo.com writes:

Mr. Sorg,

Over the past decade I have been involved in state and local politics and with the Republican party extensively. I have never in those years been told to "put up, or shut up" by an elected official. Your unprofessionalism aside, it seems to me that I recall hearing that you had called the murder justified. If you are stating to me that you never claimed that then I will believe you. It would seem, however, that a reasonable person could infer from your comments about the death of Corporal McKay that you have strong negative opinions regarding Corporal McKay and the traffic stop that ultimately ended in murder. It would seem from the Attorney General's Report on the incident that Corporal McKay's actions were justified and proper. I cannot, therefor understand your statement of "I hate to say this and I could have said this privately if I had been consulted about this bill before it was filed but if Corporal McKay had acted in a more professional manner, and not been so gung-ho to yank the chain of young Mr. Kenney, they would both be alive today." It would seem to me that Corporal McKay was merely effecting a traffic stop on a vehicle with an expired registration, and not yanking anyone's chain.

Sincerely,

Jon XXXXX

Posted by: Inspector

Editorial in CONCORD MONITOR (NH) January 21st, 2008

It's not often that we applaud a decision by lawmakers to punt, but last week's vote not to vote by the New Hampshire House Public Works and Highways Committee was the best possible answer to a mighty uncomfortable question.
At issue was a request to rename a portion of the Franconia Notch Parkway for Cpl. Bruce McKay, the police officer shot and killed by Liko Kenney after a traffic stop last spring. Kenney was then shot and killed by a passer-by. The incident, now eight months past, still looms large in the public life of Franconia and Easton, the tiny North Country communities where the participants in this horrible and perplexing incident lived and worked.
McKay, like Michael Briggs, Jeremy Charron and several dozen other law enforcement officers, is part of a sad fraternity of police officers killed in the line of duty, New Hampshire residents who put their own lives on the line to protect the rest of us.
But unlike Briggs, Charron and most of the others, McKay was also a lightening rod for controversy. Eight months after his death, he remains so - both for his conduct in the May 11 incident that ended his life and for some of his police work in the years that preceded it.
The Public Works and Highways Committee took testimony from Kenney's family opposing the memorial. They heard from McKay's fiancée who supported it. They got a petition from Franconia with 100 signatures in opposition. One North Country committee member said his constituents had urged him "in masses" to reject the idea.
Road sign memorials and the legislation that creates them rarely seem like a big deal. If local residents pay attention at all, it is to support the modest tribute to local heroes. In this case, the community is starkly and angrily divided. There is nothing to be gained from state government imposing such a memorial right now. Time, perhaps, will give residents and lawmakers a clearer view.
The issue for today is not how best to memorialize McKay, but how best to calm a roiled community. The full House should quickly endorse the committee's vote to study the issue further, thereby postponing any decision. In doing so, we hope legislators can keep the debate civil and respectful. Whatever lawmakers ultimately think about the road sign and about McKay and Kenney, two men have died in the most senseless of altercations.

Posted by: Michele

Instead, McKay gave in to his embarrassment and anger and took off after Kenney, who was merely returning home from work, and who may have believed - given their history and his known irrationality - that McKay's stop of him was made only for the purpose of harassing him. We believe that McKay put his professional training aside and allowed his personal animus towards Kenney to control his actions, for which lapse in judgment he paid a terrible price.[html]

SPEECHLESS.....

[/quote]

Posted by: kwflatbed

Representative Gregory Sorg

R - NH (11)
Home Office

129 Gibson Road
Franconia, NH 03580
Phone: (603) 823-8856
Fax: (603) 823-8068

Email Gregory Sorg

gregorysorg@aol.com

Posted by: Chipper

Give me a break.....I think it is a shame how the general public think of its LEO's. I am tired of the attitude that "it comes with the job mentality" It is time that we vote these idiots out of office.

Posted by: pahapoika

took the high road on this one fellas. i'm sure it's like so much pissing in the wind , but at least the guy will have a full mail box

Subject; Cpl. Bruce McKay Memorial Parkway

Sir

after reading some of the comments made renaming a portion of the Franconia Notch Parkway for Cpl. Bruce McKay i felt compelled to write you.

the "routine " traffic stop that ended officer McKay's life was just that , a ROUTINE TRAFFIC STOP. . it gives no one the right to fly off into a murderous rage and kill a police officer.

there is a small monument on Rt 3 south heading towards cape cod that i pass many times and it honers a fallen Massachusetts Trooper killed in the line of duty. it reminds me these officers are out there enforcing the laws and protecting citizens from people who have no regard for you, me or anyone else that gets in their way.

they are criminals and i see them everyday because i work in a state prison. cop killers have celebrity status among their fellow inmates in prison and it amazes me you and some of the good citizens in your community would share the same approval as murders , rapists and thieves.

please respect the memory of this officer.

Singed a concerned citizen

Posted by: kwflatbed

From: Gregorysorg@aol.com
To: harry@kwflatbed.com
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2008 1:49 PM
Subject: Re: Liko Kenney

Dear Mr. Pike:

Thanks a lot. You sound like a real sweetheart yourself.

Gregory M. Sorg

In a message dated 1/21/2008 11:02:32 AM Eastern Standard Time, harry@kwflatbed.com writes:

Representative Gregory Sorg:

With all of the comments that I have read from day one on the incedent involving officer
McKay and Liko Kennedy,officer McKay was doing the job he was hired to do nothing
more nothing less.
You and your so called Franconia friends and bretheren must all have blinders on when
a local is involved in anything to do with the police.
Officer McKay deserves everything offered up for his well done job in handling a situation
in the way he was trained to do, you are not in law enforcement and just because you are a
lawyer that defends the likes of Liko Kennedy and the rest of the seemingly inbred family
he belonged to makes you one of them,and that must be what keeps you in office doing
a disservice to the rest of the state of New Hampshire.
Anyone who opposes the honor that was put forth for Officer McKay is scum in my book
and you are the cream of that crop.

Harold Pike

Posted by: Sniper

I think there should be a march by LEOs on the State House !!!!!!!!!!!! Somebody make that happen !!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: pahapoika

got a reply from Mr. Sorg looks like he's sending the same letter out , " you don't know all the facts " blah , blah , blah.............

think KW's right , these people are inbreds

Posted by: kwflatbed

At least I didn't get the form letter LOL

Posted by: JoninNH

I'd recommend anyone who is interested in getting a section of highway named after Corporal McKay write a letter to the two US Senators from New Hampshire. While I am unsure as to how likely that a US Senate bill would be introduced to honor Corporal McKay, I would like to at least give it a try.

Senator John Sununu
111 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2841
FAX (202) 228-4131
http://sununu.senate.gov/webform.html

Senator Judd Gregg
393 Russell Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-3324
http://gregg.senate.gov/public/index...ct.ContactForm

Posted by: PearlOnyx

This guy seriously won't stop emailing me. Every day for a week now. In my last email I asked him to stop emailing me. He won't stop until I admit that I can not back up my statements, which I won't do. It appears that I've committed myself to an email a day to this guy until he gives up =)

Posted by: pahapoika

This guy seriously won't stop emailing me.

guess i got lucky with just the form letter

Posted by: Delta784

Quote:

Originally Posted by PearlOnyx

This guy seriously won't stop emailing me. Every day for a week now. In my last email I asked him to stop emailing me. He won't stop until I admit that I can not back up my statements, which I won't do. It appears that I've committed myself to an email a day to this guy until he gives up =)

Go to every porn site you can think of with a free trial membership, and sign up using his e-mail address. He'll quickly become too busy fielding offers of farm sex videos and escort services to worry about writing to you.

Posted by: JoninNH

PearlOnyx... Please, have a complaint served on him for harrassing emails. Then leak it to the Union Leader. LOL

Posted by: PearlOnyx

No email today...first day in about a week. Maybe he's given up?

Posted by: JoninNH

I think he's reading the threads.

Posted by: PearlOnyx

That's definately possible. No response for a few days now, so I think I'm free and clear.

Posted by: Michele

1/29/2008 9:58:00 AM

One sign is already in place honoring Cpl. N. Bruce McKay, the Franconia police officer who died in the line of duty in May.

Fight Expected In Legislature Over McKay Memorial

Amy Ash Nixon
Staff Writer

FRANCONIA, N.H. -- Controversy surrounding House Bill 1428, to name a portion of the Franconia Notch Parkway for slain officer Cpl. Bruce McKay, continues to swirl in town as the New Hampshire House of Representatives prepares to decide on the bill Wednesday.

A floor fight is anticipated, opponents of the bill said Monday, as state Rep. Martha McLeod, D-Franconia, continues to advocate for the bill, which she was asked to submit on behalf of the McKay family.

McKay was shot and run over May 11 by Liko Kenney of Easton after a traffic stop. Kenney was subsequently shot and killed by a passer-by who used McKay's weapon to shoot him.

The deadly incident has divided not only the town of Franconia, but neighboring towns of Easton and Sugar Hill and beyond, as many people question the complaints lodged against McKay. They allege that he was not properly reeled in by his superiors, the police chief and selectmen. That a portion of the Franconia Notch Parkway may carry the officer's name has incensed those who feel the officer's demeanor contributed to his death and that of Kenney's.

Family and friends of Kenney maintain the officer bullied him and Kenney felt he was being stalked by McKay. The night of the murder, McKay pepper sprayed him before Kenney shot him in the back multiple times and drove over his body.

But to those who want the highway memorial erected for McKay - as similar highway and roadway memorials to other New Hampshire officers killed in the line of duty have had done in their memories - the issue is straightforward. An officer was killed in the line of duty doing his job, and he deserves a tribute for making the ultimate sacrifice.

McLeod said she didn't know if the issue would "come to a floor fight or not, but I do plan to speak on the floor in honor of Corporal McKay. It is a tradition that the local representative would do that either in what is called a 'unanimous consent' or as part of the debate," she said. "Citizens are not allowed to testify as this is the House floor vote on the committee recommendation. I imagine there will be law enforcement present in the House gallery as this is important to them and they would want to support the McKay family," she said.

Since only McLeod has sponsored the bill from the region as most other are representatives either believe it is too soon or inappropriate for such a tribute, many area residents have fought its passage, traveling to Concord to speak against it.

McLeod has maintained she simply followed the wishes of the late officer's father, and his fiancee who has legally taken the late officer's last name now - Sharon Davis McKay. McLeod said Monday that N. Bruce McKay Sr., the officer's father from Connecticut, will travel to the Statehouse to hear consideration of the bill on Wednesday, along with McKay's fiancZe.

Many people, including a committee of individuals who came together to help heal the town, are hoping the bill does not pass the House.

In the testimony of the Franconia Recovery and Reconciliation "Our guiding principle has been 'do no harm,' as it applies to supporting both grieving individuals and the community as a whole. Understanding that roadside signs are a tradition in New Hampshire for honoring a line-of-duty death, we respectfully suggest that consideration of HB.1428 be tabled for a time sufficient for us to complete our year-long process," the committee wrote to the legislative committee considering the McKay bill.

"Of course, grief does not take sides, and our thoughts and prayers are with anyone who is recovering from this tragedy," the committee said in its testimony, shared by Mark Lindberg, a member of the committee and spokesman for the group.

The group set up a year-long process, the testimony said, that included outreach, inquiry and community action, which they believe would make any planned memorial "premature."

Roland Shick, a member of the group, said Monday that people are saying when the bill comes up before the full House, that "there's going to be a floor fight."

He said there will be a "push to have the bill passed that day, and we are trying our hardest just to get the testimony out there," to have the House of Representatives hear via a full-blast e-mail campaign in recent days that many people do not want to see this step taken now. Hundreds of signatures have been gathered locally in a drive to try and defeat the bill's passage as well.

Shick said Wednesday evening, the Franconia Recovery and Reconciliation Committee will meet "and depending on the outcome of the vote, if the bill doesn't pass, we're going to then figure out what we can do as far as helping the community come up with a decision."

State Rep. Lyle "Rusty" Bulis, R-Littleton, had been asked initially by McLeod to work on an amendment to the bill, but that issue is now moot, and Bulis said Monday he was not part of the legislative process related to HB.1428. He said this, "The people in Franconia are very, very sincere in this matter and do want to get beyond this, I believe. As far as I'm concerned, I hope that after everything has been said and done that some good can come of this tragic event."

Bulis said if the House ends up passing the bill, the same process would start all over again in the Senate with another public hearing.

"While this legislation is well-intended," he said, "it is my feeling that it is too early - that we, as a legislative body, need to hear from the people of Franconia, should they want to pursue this further ... this needs to come from the people of Franconia."

Bulis said he does believe that "Corporal McKay died in the line of duty and his memory needs to be honored in some way, and that recognition needs to be promulgated by the town of Franconia - the people of the town of Franconia - and that's really the way it is," he said.

For now, the bill has been referred to interim study by the Legislature's Public Works and Highways committee. Bulis said Monday what that means is that if the recommendation for interim study passes the House on Wednesday, the bill would go into a folder for future consideration.

What would then happen is that a subcommittee would be established and make a report by Nov. 1, and the bill would essentially end with that study's completion, and another bill would need to be raised in the following session if the legislator wants to see it come back.

"That is the end of the bill, and in the future, if the legislator wants to take the bill up again, they must file new legislation," Bulis said.

"The bill and committee recommendation (for further study) will be presented to the full House on Wednesday morning whereupon the full House will decide whether to uphold the recommendation of interim study or give the bill further consideration," Bulis said of the status of HB.1428, which many people continue to lobby for and against.

Language in the proposed bill says, "Corporal McKay was committed to his job as a law enforcement officer and prosecutor for the Town of Franconia. While on duty, McKay patrolled the areas designated. He loved the area, and enjoyed hiking, fishing, swimming, picnicking and photographing the area, especially Echo and Profile Lakes and the White Mountains. Appropriate signage may be placed along the designated portion of the parkway."

Cost of the signs would not be the state's, the bill says, but the permission of the state is needed to allow signs to go up. The bill proposes to name the portion of the Franconia Notch Parkway from mile markers 108 to 110 the Cpl. Bruce McKay Memorial Parkway.

Posted by: kwflatbed

Plan To Name Road For Fallen Officer Put Off For Now

Emotions Split In Town Where Officer, Shooter Killed

POSTED: 1:34 pm EST January 30, 2008

CONCORD, N.H. -- A highway won't be named after slain Franconia police Cpl. Bruce McKay this year in his hometown, which still is emotionally divided over what happened the day McKay and his killer died.

The House voted 257-95 Wednesday to study the idea in hopes the emotions would ease.

A House committee recommended more study for a proposal to name a two-mile stretch of the Franconia Notch Parkway the Corporal Bruce McKay Memorial Parkway. The committee said it wanted time to hear from the town and surrounding communities.

McKay was shot to death last May by Easton resident Liko Kenney. A passer-by then shot Kenney to death. At a hearing on the proposal, some area residents and a member of Kenney's family said they opposed it.

The incident divided the town. Some believe McKay should be honored. Others believe the officer pushed Kenney to the breaking point with aggressive police tactics.

http://www.wmur.com/news/15176573/detail.html

Posted by: Delta784

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwflatbed

The House voted 257-95 Wednesday to study the idea in hopes the emotions would ease.

Translation = We don't have the balls to publicly vote on it.

Posted by: Mitpo62

Another pile of political hack-o-rama crap. A police officer makes the ultimate sacrifice and there has to be a "debate." A Taunton police officer died in the line of duty back in '95. Who do you think the thoughtful city fathers named the new "temporary" police station after? Hmmmm?? Some one term political hack former mayor, who's still alive no less! Don't get me started!

Posted by: jackiedee2002

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delta784

Translation = We don't have the balls to publicly vote on it.

That's EXACTLY what I read. Seriously, grow a pair, then run the state. Goodness gracious.

Jackie

Posted by: Inspector

He was a black-and-white guy, and how fitting is that? Wasn't this a black-and-white case, right from the start? Wasn't Franconia Police Cpl. Bruce McKay merely doing his job when he pulled over Liko Kenney last May for an expired registration?
Wasn't Kenney the one who failed to cooperate with police orders, showing absolutely no respect for authority, the guy with an attitude taken straight from a reality cop show?
Wasn't it Kenney who owned a record of violence, and wasn't it Kenney who tried to leave the scene, and wasn't it Kenney who murdered a police officer, shooting him in the back?
Wasn't it?
That's how McKay's fiancee, Sharon Davis-McKay of Concord, sees it today, and that's how she'll always see it.
It's why she wants a one-mile stretch of Interstate 93 through Franconia Notch named after McKay. Honor him as an officer killed in the line of duty, she says. Treat him like other officers who've died in the line of duty and had streets and traffic circles named after them.
The House Public Works and Highways Committee voted unanimously two weeks ago to keep studying a bill some say is the most contentious they've ever seen. And yesterday the full House agreed, shelving it indefinitely.
Davis-McKay was there, wondering why this tribute is now on hold.
Don't throw a roadblock in front of this process, as the committee and House are doing. Don't question McKay's integrity and label him a bully, as some in the small northern towns of Franconia and Easton have done. Don't sensationalize the negative aspects of his past, 10 complaints in 11 years, and bury the good things, 28 commendations and many letters of thanks, as some in the media have done.
McKay helped arrest the killers of Epsom Police Officer Jeremy Charron.
Remember?
Black and white. It's really quite simple.
"You have to understand where I'm coming from," Davis-McKay said this week. "I wish somebody would walk in my shoes and feel how I'm feeling about all of this. My world was a perfect world, and then it just immediately came crashing down, and I'm still dealing with it. I still have to hear how these people continually degrade Bruce's integrity and character. These people didn't even know him."
Davis-McKay, a 43-year-old microbiologist, legally changed her last name to honor her fiance after he was killed May 11. The idea came from McKay's father.
Kenney was also killed, shot with McKay's own revolver by a passer-by, Gregory Floyd, who saw the incident unfold from a distance. Floyd was cleared of all charges.
Davis-McKay has refused to speak to the media in the past, ever cautious of an institution she believes has misrepresented McKay and his role in this surreal story.
"I don't trust anyone right now," she said. "That's just in general."
Now, with her frustration rising and McKay's reputation tarnished following his death, she has reluctantly come forward.
Davis-McKay sat in a conference room in the attorney general's office, with victim/witness advocate Jennifer Hunt seated across a long, glass-covered wooden table.
She clasped her hands on her lap and moved her eyes around the room, searching for the right words to defend the man she still loves. Sometimes, she closed her eyes and paused for five seconds before answering.
She wore a pink sweater and two long necklaces, one with McKay's thick wedding band, another with a miniature version of his police badge, with May 11, 2007, inscribed on the bottom. They were supposed to be married two months later, July 7, just the two of them and a justice of the peace on top of Cannon Mountain, near where McKay patrolled.
"He and I spoke about it," she said. "He told me he thought this should be between just the two of us, a contract between the two of us, and I agreed with him."
They met online during the summer of 2006 and quickly fell in love. They were both divorced. He had a daughter, she had two sons.
They went for walks on the beach and spent weekends together, with Davis-McKay and her teenage boys driving to McKay's house in Landaff, a town 20 minutes from Franconia with back roads and lots of moose.
"We were inseparable," Davis-McKay said.
She reverted to the black-and-white guy, the man who, while showing love and loyalty to his family and girlfriend, adopted a no-nonsense approach to life.
"Either you were in the right or you were in the wrong," Davis-McKay said. "He expected people to be responsible for their actions."
She also described a muscular man with a soft spot for his 9-year-old daughter, Courtney, his four dogs and Davis-McKay's cooking. She said she planned to move into McKay's 1800s post-and-beam Cape. They had sketched the additions they planned to build, including two new bedrooms.
"I had the best world with my sons and Courtney and Bruce," Davis-McKay said. "Things were perfect. I remember my friend saying, 'You have a fairytale life.' Everything was perfect, up until May 11."
There were signs of trouble before that day. There had been a confrontation between McKay and Kenney four years earlier.
That's when McKay found Kenney sleeping in his car in a park. McKay asked for Kenney's license, and it escalated from there. It took three cops to subdue Kenney, who squeezed McKay's testicles during a scuffle. McKay, in turn, slammed Kenney on the left side of his face. Kenney was convicted of assault and resisting arrest.
Davis-McKay was quick to point out that McKay sympathized with Kenney during the sentencing phase, asking the court for a lenient punishment. It worked: Kenney served just 15 days of a one-year sentence.
"I honestly believe," Davis-McKay said, "that Bruce wanted to see the good in everyone."
Then, four years later, McKay and his fiancee were shopping at Wal-Mart. Davis-McKay felt a pair of eyes burning through the couple. Or at least through McKay.
Kenney was near the register.
"I looked up and realized there was this man staring at us, and I have never been so afraid of anybody in my life," Davis-McKay said. "I grabbed Bruce's arm and said, 'He freaks me out,' and Bruce said, 'Oh yeah, I'll tell you about him.' "
The couple walked into the parking lot, and McKay explained.
"I'm sure Liko Kenney had some thoughts or feelings about Bruce because Bruce had been involved in his prior arrest," Davis-McKay said. "But Bruce, as with everybody else he dealt with as an officer, did not have an issue with him. He said the man had some psychological issues, and he left it at that. He told me about the issue that had occurred in 2003."
On May 11 of last year, McKay pulled over Kenney, the driver, and his passenger, a co-worker of Kenney at Merrill's Agway in Littleton, for speeding. McKay soon noticed an expired registration. Kenney soon noticed that it was McKay who'd pulled him over. He asked McKay to call for backup officer to serve as a witness.
Kenney then tried to leave the scene, heading toward his hometown of Easton, and McKay tracked him down, pulling in front of him and eventually facing Kenney's car, nose-to-nose with his police SUV.
When Kenney tried to back up and leave again, McKay hit his front end with his SUV, forcing Kenney's car backward, then repeated the action.
McKay approached the car, pepper-sprayed Kenney and turned away. Kenney then shot McKay four times in the back and ran over him. Then he ran over him again.
Gregory Floyd, also a resident of Easton who had happened upon the scene, quickly grabbed McKay's gun and killed Kenney.
Davis-McKay was driving north from Concord for her regular weekend trip to see McKay. It was a Friday, dusk. They had dinner plans. Sgt. Mark Taylor of the Franconia police called her cell phone.
"He said I should come to Littleton Hospital," Davis-McKay said. "The only thing I remember saying to him was, 'Please tell me if Bruce is dead or alive.' He said just come to Littleton Hospital and be careful. I flew."
McKay's ex-wife told her the news. Davis-McKay ran out the front door screaming, then returned and sat alone with her fiance. "I don't know how long I was there," she said.
McKay was buried six days later. The funeral was held at the base of Cannon Mountain, in a big parking lot. It was rainy, raw.
Davis-McKay doesn't sleep well now and says her life is empty. She wonders if normalcy is gone forever. But she's got some fire left.
The Corporal Bruce McKay Memorial Parkway, Davis-McKay believes, would be a lasting tribute to a worthy officer. McKay was doing his job and was killed for it.
She hatched the idea for House Bill 1428 last fall and received support from Rep. Martha McLeod, a Democrat from Franconia who sponsored the legislation.
"We didn't even consider any resistance," Davis-McKay said. "He was murdered in the line of duty. Then all hell broke loose."
They headed into a House committee hearing earlier this month, ready to honor a fallen officer, equipped with what they thought was an example of bravery and dedication to duty.
But there had been e-mails against the measure sent to the Public Works and Highways Committee. And newspaper accounts detailing McKay's history of tough tactics. And speculation that McKay caused the friction between himself and Kenney, that the entire incident could have been avoided with smarter, calmer police work.
Davis-McKay felt things spiraling out of control. Her fiance was dead. And now his name stood for something other than protecting and serving.
Davis-McKay, an outspoken, confident woman who is rarely intimidated, began to withdraw, furious at the media and the people who saw McKay as a troublemaker.
"I think they've both played off each other," Davis-McKay said. "I'm frustrated that there are a number of people who choose to be swayed by what they've read in the news or what they've heard from people who either don't like authority or they didn't know him as an individual, as a father, as a partner, role model, son, a brother. They didn't know him that way."
What they know is they may not want part of Interstate 93 named after him. The bill needs further study, legislators said. Too controversial, they claimed. Too much gray, they insisted.
McLeod has introduced an amendment to the bill, hoping that Route 18, a road off Exit 34C that leads into the center of Franconia, could bear McKay's name instead.
"It's not my initial wish," Davis-McKay said. "But I would have to accept it."
Meanwhile, Davis-McKay works at a local hospital, cares for her two sons, both of whom attend Merrimack Valley High, and tries to adjust to a life that once seemed perfect. The story has made national headlines, for all the wrong reasons.
She can't go back, can't have what she once had. But she can fight for something that will last forever.
And she is fighting.
"I was mortified that people could sit there and say such terrible things about Bruce," Davis-McKay said. "That he was responsible for his own death as well as Liko Kenney's death because he had tried to stop Liko Kenney. But that was his job. (Kenney) was breaking the law."
It's all there. In black and white.
Ray Duckler CONCORD MONITOR
function DaysDiff(D1, D2) { return Math.round((D1 - D2) / 86400000); } Date1 = "2008/01/31" Date2 = "2008/01/31" //alert(Date1) //alert(Date2) Diff1 = DaysDiff(new Date(Date1), new Date(Date2)); //alert(Diff1) document.write("This article is: " + Diff1 + " days old.")

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