April 26--DOVER -- Four local police officers who were struck by gunfire while attempting to search a Greenland home this month have all been released from the hospital.
The four men, who are members of the Attorney General's Drug Task Force, were taken by ambulance to Portsmouth Regional Hospital for treatment after they were shot during a drug search on April 12.
Greenland Police Chief Michael Maloney was killed during the operation, which took place at a home at 517 Post Road in Greenland.
Prosecutors say the target of the search, 29-year-old Cullen Mutrie, unloaded a firearm at members of the drug task force as they attempted to enter his home.
Rochester Detective Jeremiah Murphy and Newmarket Detective Scott Kukesh were both struck in the chest by bullets during the engagement with Mutrie. The men underwent surgery, and each remained in the intensive care unit for several days.
Two other officers were also wounded during the encounter: Eric Kulberg, 31, of the University of New Hampshire Police Department, was shot in the arm, and Dover Police Officer Greg Turner was struck in the shoulder by a bullet.
Both were treated for the injuries and released the same evening.
Turner, 32, has been a member of the Dover Police Department for six years.
"Physically, Detective Turner is doing excellent," Dover Police Chief Anthony Colarusso said Wednesday. "He doesn't need any more medical treatment -- follow-up treatment -- at all, and at this point, we're just working to make sure he gets back to full duty as soon as possible."
N.H. Executive Director of Public Safety Paul Dean, chief of the UNH Police Department, wrote in an email Wednesday that Detective Kulberg "continues to recover at home," and is expected to return to full health.
After recuperating from surgery, Murphy was released from Portsmouth Regional Hospital this past Saturday, according to Rochester Police Chief David Dubois.
Members of the Rochester and Portsmouth Police departments were on hand to celebrate and honor the release, Dubois wrote in an email Wednesday. The location of Murphy's continued recovery is not being made public at this time, he wrote.
Murphy was taken into surgery Thursday evening, April 12, within hours of the 6:22 p.m. shootings. Kukesh underwent surgery several hours later, and both men were listed in stable condition as of Friday afternoon, April 13.
After a speaking engagement in Dover on Wednesday, Gov. John Lynch said he was informed last week that Kukesh has also been released from Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
Newmarket Police Chief Kevin Cyr could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Police accounts indicate Maloney, who was eight days away from his scheduled retirement, pulled Kukesh to safety after Kukesh was wounded by gunfire.
Maloney was saluted by law enforcement officers from around the country last week during a funeral procession in Hampton, which was followed by a public funeral ceremony at Winnacunnet High School.
Among those who walked the funeral procession route were New Hampshire Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte, Congressmen Frank Guinta and Charles Bass, Gov. John Lynch and Attorney General Michael Delaney, whose office is directing the investigation in the shootings.
During a prayer vigil held in the wake of the shootings in Newmarket, Cyr read a message from Kukesh to some 200 people in attendance, and said Kukesh was eager to return to work.
On Sunday, April 29, local runners and walkers will have the chance to show their support for Maloney's family during the Chief Maloney Memorial Charity Walk and Run.
Participants will travel a 5.4-mile path from the Portsmouth police station to the Greenland police station.
Dubois said the Rochester Police Commission will announce plans at a May 2 meeting to honor Murphy at a private ceremony at the police station in the near future.
A resident of Haverhill, Mass., Murphy has been serving in Rochester since December 2004, both as a patrol officer and a member of the support division.
Dubois called the 34-year-old detective a "valued member of the organization with a pristine service record."
Both Dubois and Colarusso have declined to release photographs of officers affected by the April 12 tragedy, citing the nature of their work with the Attorney General's Drug Task Force and their roles in local policing.
"Detective Murphy continues to improve and in addition to all of the community support enjoys the healing power of a loving family both at home and work," Dubois said in a statement. "We look forward to his continued recovery and plan to formally honor his bravery and sacrifice in the near future."
Copyright 2012 - Foster's Daily Democrat, Dover, N.H.
