Claremont
The officer was identified as Cpl. Ian Kibbe, a 2½-year member of the Claremont Police Department, Attorney General Joseph Foster said in a news release issued on Friday afternoon.
Cody LaFont was shot three times in the chest at his Congress Street home around 5 a.m. on Sunday after calling police. Family members have said, and court records indicate, LaFont struggled with mental health issues in recent years.
The one-paragraph news release from the Attorney General’s Office on Friday said the incident was not captured on any recording device because Claremont police do not have cameras on their uniforms or in their cruisers.
“The investigation is ongoing and it is anticipated that a conclusion regarding whether (Kibbe’s) actions were lawful will be released in the coming weeks,” the release said.
The public identification of the officer came two hours before about 100 people attended a funeral Mass for LaFont at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in downtown Claremont.
The Rev. John Loughnane offered his prayers, sympathy and condolences to LaFont’s family and friends during this “very tragic occasion.”
Life can change in a split second, Loughnane said, and he urged loved ones to stick together when tragedy strikes.
“We come together to pray and to ask for God’s blessing and God’s comfort,” he said from the altar.
Now is not “goodbye,” but rather “see you later,” Loughnane said. “We will see Cody again, face to face, and we will enjoy his presence and his smile.”
Prior to the service, LaFont’s stepfather parked his 1977 Chevrolet Nova near the church’s steps and hand-painted the number “24” in lime green on the side and hood of the car.
“It was Cody’s number when he raced Mini Stocks,” Aaron Fitzherbert told a reporter. “I am hoping to take a run around the track in Claremont tonight as a tribute.”
Alison Raymond, one of three Claremont police commissioners, said the community is in mourning.
LaFont had attended Stevens High School and was a shipping supervisor at Sinclair Machine Products, a business owned by his family.
“It’s just an incredibly sad situation for everyone involved, and we will take it a day at a time,” Raymond said in a Friday afternoon phone interview.
The police commission is charged with, among other duties, removing police personnel for just cause, but Raymond said it would be premature to assume that any wrongdoing has occurred.
“There is absolutely nothing in the works at this time,” she said. “The Attorney General’s Office is still in the process of investigating, and I know at this time as much as the public does. All of it will come out in the proper time frame.”
Claremont Police Commissioner Joel Tremblay declined comment on the specifics of the case, citing the attorney general’s active investigation.
“It’s still an ongoing investigation, and I don’t want to say anything that might disrupt the attorney general’s work,” he said.
Sunday wasn’t the first time LaFont, who struggled with depression, had called authorities to ask for assistance. Court records indicate he repeatedly called 911 last December and requested “someone to talk to.” An officer responded and sat with him for 90 minutes, according to court documents.
Claremont police on Friday referred questions to the Attorney General’s Office.
“We appreciate and understand the community’s wishes for quick answers but must respect the integrity of the investigative process to ensure the most accurate outcome,” Claremont Police Chief Alex Scott said in a news release from his department. Scott previously said Kibbe had been taken off of patrol duty pending completion of the investigation.
The 29-year-old Kibbe joined the Claremont force in 2014 after working for two years as a patrolman for the Windsor Police Department, where he also served as the fleet and automated fingerprint identification system supervisor, according to a Windsor police Facebook post announcing his departure.
He is a 2006 graduate of Green Mountain Union High School in Chester, Vt., where he ran track, according to news reports at the time.
Court records indicate there was at least one other incident where Kibbe drew a gun in the Upper Valley.
In October 2013, Kibbe and his Windsor supervisor, then-Sgt. James Beraldi, were trying to detain a suspected fugitive Beraldi spotted at the Cumberland Farms on Route 5. Kibbe entered the store and drew his handgun, and then wrestled the suspect, Kyle Quirion, into handcuffs, according to an affidavit from Kibbe.
Once outside, Quirion broke away and attempted to flee. As Kibbe tackled him to the ground, he wrote, he was approached by another man. The officer again drew his gun.
“I pulled out my service weapon and pointed it at the male,” Kibbe wrote in the affidavit. “I ordered the male to ‘get back or I would shoot.’ I felt a reasonable amount of fear because I did not know if the male had a weapon and if he was going to harm me.
“I felt … it was necessary to draw down on the male until I was able to regain control of the situation,” wrote Kibbe, who at the time had been a member of the Windsor department for five months.
Quirion, who suffered several cuts and abrasions in the incident, later pleaded guilty to escaping an officer’s custody.
In a phone interview on Friday, Beraldi, who now is police chief in Royalton, said he was unfamiliar with the details of the Claremont shooting, but said Kibbe is an “outstanding” and “excellent” officer.
“He was what you would want in a police officer,” Beraldi said. “He’s honest, fair, compassionate and he has a high degree of integrity. I was honored to serve with him.”
The release of Kibbe’s name by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office came three days after the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire sought the names of any officers involved in the Claremont shooting under the state’s right-to-know law.
Valley News staff writers Matt Hongholtz-Hetling and John Gregg contributed to this report. Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com.