Published: 12/16/2019 6:20:23 PM
A police officer involved in an exchange of gunfire with a man who later killed himself was justified in his use of force, the New Hampshire attorney general’s office said in a report Monday.
Authorities said two police officers repeatedly yelled at Jeffrey Clough-Garvin , 43, to drop his gun inside a house in Weare on Aug. 1. Clough-Garvin began to point his weapon at the officers, and Sgt. Austin Maguire fired his gun out of fear for the officers’ safety. Clough-Garvin was hit, but also fired his gun, wounding Officer Paul Lewis IV twice in the arm.
Both officers then withdrew from the home.
An autopsy showed that Clough-Garvin was shot four times. Clough-Garvin killed himself: the fatal wound was a shotgun wound sustained to the upper chest. Other shots hit his chest, shoulder and upper back.
“None of those gunshot wounds caused damage to Mr. Clough-Garvin’s organs,” the report said.
Attorney General Gordon MacDonald said based upon all the facts and circumstances in the case, Maguire “reasonably believed that his own life and the life of Officer Lewis was in imminent danger,” when he fired at Clough-Garvin, the report said. He faces no charges.
The report used police body camera images in determining its conclusion.