Franconia, NH- Police Officer Shot/LODD 05-11-07

[Truck4 48]

Date: 05-11-07

Time:

Location: Route 116

Departments: New Hampshire State Police

Description: NH State Trooper was shot and run over by suspect, known to Trooper, on a traffic stop.

Writer: Truck4

(WBZ/AP) FRANCONIA, N.H. A Franconia, New Hampshire police officer was fatally shot and run over by ski champion Bode Miller's cousin while on duty Friday night. The alleged gunman was then shot by a passer-by with the fallen officer's gun.

According to Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, Liko Kenney, 24, who is a cousin of ski champion Bode Miller, shot Cpl. Bruce McKay, 48 -- a 12-year veteran of the force -- after a traffic stop.

According to Authorities, McKay pulled Kenney over for speeding on Route 116. When Kenney drove off, the officer followed him for about a mile-and-a-half before pulling his cruiser in from of Kenney's car and pushing it off the road.

Ayotte said McKay sprayed Kenney with pepper spray. The officer turned around and that is when he was shot. "Cpl. McKay's cruiser video confirmed for police investigating this case that in fact Mr. Kenney had discharged several shots at Cpl. McKay before running him over," Ayotte said.

McKay was allegedly shot four times. "This once again reminds of us of the difficult and dangerous work that is done everyday by the law enforcement of this state to protect each of us," Ayotte said at a news conference in Concord. "The police officers of this state, including Cpl. McKay, are nothing short of heroes."

Ayotte said Gregory Floyd, who was driving by with his son at the time of the incident, then shot Kenney with McKay's gun when he refused to drop his weapon. His son, also named Gregory, used McKay's radio to call for help. Floyd is not being charged, according to Ayotte.

The victim's uncle, Bill Kenney, tells us his nephew allegedly had trouble with this officer in the past, describing him as his “nemesis.”

“There was an incident four years ago with this police man,” Kenney said. “This police man basically stomped Liko when he was a teenager and Liko came out of it with a coma.”

Woody Miller, Bode's father, said Kenney and McKay had a history. "They had a long relationship," said Miller, who operates an international tennis camp in nearby Easton. "There's been physical altercations between them before in the course of being arrested."

Kenney's uncle said there was so much animosity between the two, if Kenney got pulled over by McKay, "he had the right to request a different officer."

"That's what I heard," said Bode's father, Woody. "That Liko requested a backup officer, and that was when he was pepper-sprayed."

The passenger in Kenney's car told police Kenney said something like "Get another officer" just before speeding off after the initial stop, Ayotte said. "But he refused to produce a license and registration to Cpl. McKay, which is standard operating procedure, and then just took off. So this is a situation where he obviously disobeyed a police officer," she said.

Bode, who had bailed his cousin out of jail once, was on his way home to Franconia, said Woody. In 2005, while in Franconia, Bode was fined $250 for going 83 mph in a 40 mph zone. According to an article published on Sports Illustrated's Web site, Miller said he chose to contest the ticket "to try to get my fine reduced and to antagonize McKay."

In a written statement, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch paid tribute to the fallen officer's service. "We honor this officer's courage, service and commitment and extend our deepest sympathies to this officer's family, friends, community, and brothers and sisters in law enforcement."

Before becoming a Franconia, New Hampshire police officer, McKay worked in Haverhill, New Hampshire. Survivors of the fallen officer include a daughter.

Lynch has asked that all American and state flags be flown at half-staff in memory of the fallen police officer until further notice.

In October, another New Hampshire officer was killed in the line of duty. Officer Michael Briggs, 35, of Manchester, was shot in the head while responding to a domestic violence call. The man accused of shooting Briggs, Michael Addison, 26, faces capital murder charges and could be put to death if found guilty.