Watching the body camera footage of Nickenley Turenne’s death was the hardest thing Anthony Poore has ever done.
Over multiple viewings, Poore said he had to “endure the facts” as presented to him by the attorney general’s office: Turenne, a 24-year-old Black man, was shot at 18 times by Manchester police officers on a snowy December night after he pointed a flashlight at them like a gun instead of showing his hands.
“It felt like a huge waste of life,” said Poore, the president and CEO of the New Hampshire Center for Justice & Equity. He took a long pause. “It was just, it was hard.”
The three police officers who fired their weapons at Turenne will not be prosecuted after the attorney general, who reviews every use of lethal force by law enforcement, found that they were legally justified in their actions. State law allows police to use deadly force when they “reasonably believe” that they are in imminent danger.
Despite no charges being filed, Poore and other advocates organizing as the Collective Power Coalition argue that Turenne’s death was preventable. “The absence of criminal charges is not the same as justice,” the group said in a statement in response to the attorney general’s findings.
The Collective Power Coalition is a branch of the Center for Justice & Equity and other community organizations, Poore said, that hopes to continue the conversation on how to prevent “the taking of another life that not necessarily needs to be taken.”
‘A nanosecond to decide’
State Rep. Terry Roy hasn’t donned a police uniform in a few decades, but the adrenaline of chasing suspects and making split-second decisions sticks with him vividly. Each time, he said, he fell back on his training.
“The danger that you’re in in that moment, you have no idea what that suspect, why he’s running, what he has and what his intentions are, and you know that one misstep can result in your death or someone else’s death,” said Roy, a Deerfield Republican. “You want to avoid having to deploy lethal force, but you have a nanosecond to decide whether to do it or not.”
In some ways, Roy holds the keys to criminal justice law in New Hampshire. He chairs the legislative committee on criminal justice and public safety in the Republican-controlled House and holds a firm belief that police officers should not face more restrictions on the use of force than they already do.
If Republicans remain in power after the 2026 election, the Collective Power Coalition could face an uphill battle to achieve the legislative changes they seek.
Although Turenne’s death was a tragedy, Roy said, the responsibility to prevent it was on Turenne himself. After police knocked on the window of the car where he was sleeping, Turenne fled in the vehicle and on foot. He then refused to show officers his hands when prompted and pointed a flashlight at them in a stance similar to firing a gun.
“At least five times during that interaction, he could have saved his own life. He refused to comply every single time, and he forced them into that situation, and it’s tragic,” Roy said. “I feel bad for him and his family, but I feel worse for the law enforcement officers who, for the rest of their lives, have to know they took a life, and it wasn’t necessary.”
Advocates look for reform
Advocates are looking to start a conversation about reforming use-of-force and de-escalation practices, strengthening training for officers on mental health and bias and guaranteeing victim advocates for families impacted by police shootings, according to a statement from the Collective Power Coalition.
John Scippa, director of the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council, said de-escalation techniques taught at the police academy focus on trying to lower the stress of a situation. In general, officers should attempt to quickly make connections with people they encounter in the line of duty and present themselves in as non-threatening a manner as the situation allows, Scippa said.
For a variety of reasons, however — a person might be armed, suffering a mental health crisis or under the influence of drugs or alcohol — de-escalation is not always possible. If there’s a weapon or a threat of a weapon, Scippa said, officers must deal with that first.
“You hope, as a police officer, that your attempts to de-escalate, which is to reduce the stress and get this person that you’re trying to arrest under control, that they will respond in a positive way to your de-escalation techniques,” Scippa said. “There are times when, unfortunately, because of choices made by the suspect, deescalation just doesn’t work.”
The Coalition is also looking at ways to engage the community in learning about state policies and advocating for change. That may include town-hall style meetings, Poore said, where people can hear directly from law enforcement officials and mental health professionals.
High on advocates’ list of priorities is the more widespread inclusion of mental-health professionals in police responses. Turenne, for instance, had confided in his girlfriend shortly before the shooting that he was considering suicide.
When law enforcement officers encounter someone experiencing a mental health crisis, their interactions often go south quickly. Some communities, like Concord and Manchester, have formed Crisis Intervention Teams, where police officers can get special training on how to handle mental-health responses.
“There was an indication that Nickenley was having a mental health crisis at the time, and in lieu of having, my goodness, a police officer there, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a mental health professional there?” Poore said.
The Coalition also raised the question of bias, given Black men are historically “viewed through a lens of heightened suspicion and dangerousness.” Recruits training at the police academy undergo a two-day session on community policing, which covers ethics, bias and de-escalation, based on the recommendation of a commission on law enforcement accountability created by former Gov. Chris Sununu.
After the legislature enacted a statewide ban on diversity, equity and inclusion, Scippa said active officers are no longer required to periodically take that training. It is still required for new recruits, Scippa said, with a few “verbiage” changes to comply with state law.
“There were no real substantive changes because, at the end of the day, we want police officers to act in a procedural way based on the facts and circumstances that they face, right?” Scippa said. “We want to make sure that no bias is impacting their decision-making, and that bias is not specific to racial bias. It could be any bias.”
Poore also said he’d like to see a more robust support system, like victim or witness advocates, for families who’ve lost a loved one in a deadly interaction with police.
Turenne’s family spent months organizing vigils for their son and asking for a more timely release of body camera footage that captured the shooting. The family didn’t review the footage until the investigation was complete, nearly eight months later.
Community organizers stepped in to “fill in the void” and help the family navigate the process and know what to expect, Poore said.
The need to improve mental health support in New Hampshire is where Poore and Roy agree.
If Turenne was suffering from mental illness, Roy said, he should have been getting treatment. Resources across the state are stretched thin, however, and Roy said many people end up on the street when they can’t get help. Inevitable interactions with police escalate, and people end up hurt or in jail.
“This state is failing on mental health, beyond a doubt,” he said. “Our criminal justice system is being asked to carry the load for a missing mental health system.”
Poore said the state budget could be a tool to bolster mental health resources — a tool that lawmakers appear keen on using.
The budget signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte last year included funding for community mental health centers, and the Executive Council recently approved another $21 million in federal funding that will help coordinate statewide efforts and fund behavioral health workforce development.
At the same time, mental health programs took a hit under budget cuts at the state Department of Health and Human Services last year.
“If budgets are a reflection of our moral compass,” Poore said, “maybe we can rethink how we support our behavioral health system and those who benefit from it, or don’t benefit from it, to ensure these kinds of situations never happen again.”
