Laconia police recruit charged

LACONIA — A local police recruit threatened a mass shooting of law enforcement officers at today's police academy graduation, saying he would bring machine guns and was encouraging others to join him in a suicide pact, according to court affidavits released Thursday.

Noah Beaulieu, 24, of Concord, who was hired by the Laconia Police Department in May, faces two criminal threatening charges, one that carries an enhanced penalty of a prison term. Superior County Judge John Kissinger Jr. on Thursday ordered Beaulieu to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Depending on the result of that evaluation, Beaulieu will either be admitted to the New Hampshire State Hospital or be scheduled for a bail hearing in Merrimack Superior Court today.

A charging document said he threatened "to fire his service weapon during the police academy graduation so all the law enforcement officers would fire their weapons and everyone would be killed in the crossfire."

Beaulieu's attorney, Mark Sisti, said the criminal charges are not warranted and that he hopes that Beaulieu can be released today to go to Connecticut to be with his family.

"The allegations in this case are denied," Sisti said. "What he is charged with here is way out of line. He never intended to do anything criminal."

He said Beaulieu has no record of mental health problems, no police record and received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army after service with the 101st Airborne, based at Fort Campbell. Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield said Beaulieu never saw combat.

State police gathered statements from several of his fellow recruits at the academy who said he made alarming statements, including that a movie would be made about him "when he became a serial killer."

Other recruits said he talked about a mass suicide at the graduation ceremonies, firing a shot that could trigger a deadly crossfire or bringing machine guns and 30 magazines with bullets so powerful they would penetrate bullet-proof vests worn by law enforcement officers.

Chief Canfield said Beaulieu had performed well as a Laconia police recruit before the department sent him to the academy. He had passed psychological testing, a polygraph examination and an extensive background investigation that included family, friends and Army officers.

He had also performed well at the academy, which is formally called the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Academy.

After recruits from his squad approached an officer at the academy on Tuesday to express concerns about him, Laconia police officers pulled Beaulieu out of class and interviewed him. Investigators took his gun and badge and he was dismissed.

He was told to meet with Canfield at the Laconia Police Department on Wednesday, but after he left his home and was on Interstate 93 in Concord, state troopers arrested him without incident. He was unarmed.

“He was extremely cooperative, dressed in a suit, subdued and quiet,” Canfield said.

Canfield said the decision was made to arrest him in a controlled setting during a traffic stop rather than let him walk into the Laconia Police Department and potentially put others at risk.

Beaulieu told police the threatening remarks were a joke.

“It was not taken as a joke by classmates,” Canfield said. “It was reported to academy staff and corroborated with other statements. We don’t think it was a joke.

“It was said several different times and in different ways and nobody could interpret it as a joke in today’s age.”

Canfield said he was surprised when he got a call from the academy on Tuesday about the situation.

“This just came out of left field,” Canfield said. “He seemed like a nice kid. I can’t predict what he was thinking in his mind. I don’t know where this came from.

“He was a smart individual, locked in and focused on police work. There were no signs of instability.

“We do a thorough background investigation. We can’t predict future behavior. We acted quickly, suspended him immediately for the safety of our officers and employees. Even the best of background investigations can’t predict the future.”

During an interview with The Laconia Daily Sun during training at the police station over the summer, Beaulieu, who has an uncle who is a sheriff’s deputy, said he was drawn to the community service aspect of policing, which is a major emphasis in Laconia.

“I always like being that guy that other people can rely on,” he said during a break in training. “I feel like any one of my friends would say they could call on me at three in the morning to help them change a tire. I would like to be able to extend that to everyone.”