CONCORD, N.H. - A New Hampshire police officer’s request to be removed from the Exculpatory Evidence Schedule, also known as the Laurie List, was denied in court after intervention by the ACLU of New Hampshire.
The police officer, whose identity has been withheld by the court and is referred to as Officer AB, initially sued the County Attorney seeking to be removed from the list. Officer AB was originally put on the list after admitting to writing an inaccurate police report. In that incident, Officer AB drew a weapon on a prisoner, claiming it was because the prisoner had his hand in his pocket as if he were reaching for a weapon. Officer AB later admitted the prisoner did not do this.
Henry Klementowicz, Staff Attorney at the ACLU of New Hampshire, said, “Police officers who are named on the Exculpatory Evidence Schedule are there because they have engaged in misconduct. Every person has a right to due process when interacting with the criminal justice system, and that includes access to evidence that police officer witnesses may have been dishonest in the past. This lawsuit further highlights why the list should be made a public document—and that’s why we’re fighting in court to make that happen.”
The County Attorney initially stipulated that the court should order the officer to be removed, even though the Attorney General’s guidance made clear that removing this officer would be inappropriate, though she later changed her position.
The case is Officer A.B. v. Lara Saffo, Esq. in her Capacity as Grafton County Attorney, 215-2018-CV-437.