Police chief killed, four other officers shot in N.H. standoff

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Police Chief Michael Maloney was less than two weeks away from retiring. (GREENLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT HANDOUT / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

GREENLAND, N.H. -- A man suspected of killing a New Hampshire police chief just days from retirement and wounding four other officers was found dead along with a female acquaintance early Friday, ending an overnight standoff that plunged a small town into fear and grief.

The officers were part of the state attorney general's drug task force and were trying to serve a search warrant on Cullen Mutrie around 6 p.m. Thursday when Mutrie opened fire. Greenland Police Chief Michael Maloney was killed and four detectives from other departments were injured. Two were in stable condition Friday; the other two were treated and released.

Authorities spoke to Mutrie a short time after the shooting from outside the home but things soon went silent, said Attorney General Michael Delaney. Around 2 a.m., a tactical team placed a robot equipped with a video camera in the home, and it detected the bodies. Authorities were still trying to determine when Mutrie and the woman died, but Delaney said they both died of gunshot wounds in either a murder-suicide or double suicide.

The police shootings devastated Greenland, a town of 3,500 near the seacoast that had just seven police officers including Maloney, 48, who was due to retire in less than two weeks.

"In those final days, he sacrificed his life in public service as a law-enforcement officer in New Hampshire," Delaney said.

Maloney had 26 years of experience in law enforcement, the last 12 as chief of the Greenland department.

Jacqueline DeFreze, who lives less than a kilometre down the road, said she'd planned to attend a surprise party for his retirement.

"I'm a wreck. He was just the greatest guy," said DeFreze, a fourth-grade teacher in nearby Rye. "He's kind-hearted, always visible in the community."

Selectman Ken Bellevue said he was heartbroken. He last spoke to Maloney Monday night and recalled the chief was looking forward to his retirement and perhaps starting a new job down the road. "We're going to make sure we get through this," he said. "This is our town."

The two detectives who remained in hospital after being shot in the chest were both wearing bulletproof vests, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. Dr. Timothy Pike, chief medical officer of Portsmouth Hospital, said both were comfortable, in stable condition, and were with their families.

Lee Miller, who lives next door to where the shootings took place, said she heard at least six shots on Thursday. Fearing for her 12-year-old grandson who was visiting her, she said she went to the window and saw someone on the ground. Moments later, police knocked on her door, telling them to run outside and take cover behind a police cruiser.

Miller told The Associated Press she had complained to police repeatedly about suspected drug activity at Mutrie's house and had been told it was under investigation.

"The neighbourhood was raped by him. He came in and took over. And that was the end of our lives. There were fights out there at three, four o'clock in the morning," she said. "I moved my bed all around the room to get away from the window that faces the driveway. I said the next place I'm going to be sleeping is the bathtub."

Miller said Mutrie had lived in the house for seven years.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 14, 2012 A27