SEABROOK — The town fired two of its police officers and reprimanded two others Wednesday for their involvement in or failure to report an alleged police brutality incident that occurred inside the station.

SEABROOK — The town fired two of its police officers and reprimanded two others Wednesday for their involvement in or failure to report an alleged police brutality incident that occurred inside the station.



Police Chief Lee Bitomske has previously described the assault of then-19-year-old Michael Bergeron Jr. as a “dark cloud” that was hanging over the department since station surveillance video of the incident went viral in January.



He and other officials said Wednesday, though, that the termination of officers Mark Richardson and Adam Laurent, the two-day suspension of Officer Keith Dietenhofer and the demotion of Lt. John Wasson, the three officers' supervisor, may have “lifted” that cloud.



“The black cloud is over,” said Selectmen Chairman Ed Hess Jr.



Town Manager Bill Manzi announced the disciplinary action against the officers during a special press conference Wednesday afternoon.



The town hired Municipal Resources Inc. in March to perform an independent internal affairs investigation into the alleged Nov. 11, 2009, assault of Bergeron, which only came to light after Bergeron, now 23, posted video of the incident on YouTube on Jan. 6 of this year.



Wednesday's personnel decisions were made as a result of the recent completion of Municipal Resources' “thorough” and “fairly” conducted non-criminal investigation, according to Manzi.



Joyce Bergeron, the mother of Michael Bergeron Jr., said Wednesday the various disciplinary measures bring great “relief” for her family.



“I'm actually happy about how everything happened,” she said. “It's just been hard on everybody.”



Richardson is accused of slamming Bergeron head-first into the station's cement cell block wall after Bergeron was arrested on Nov. 11, 2009, on driving while intoxicated and possession of marijuana charges.



Richardson, who faces trial in November on one count of simple assault by an on-duty police officer, was the only officer indicted in connection to the incident, although town officials said Wednesday that additional measures were needed against the other individuals based on Municipal Resources' findings.



“We will never tolerate that kind of conduct in this town,” said Joe McKittrick, an attorney representing the town.



Municipal Resources' final report states Richardson used force that “well exceeded” what is allowed by state law. Municipal Resources states that Richardson, who was 6 feet, 6 inches tall and about 270 pounds at the time of the incident, said in his interview he used this force because he was “in fear” of the allegedly defiant Bergeron, described as a 6-foot, 2-inch, 145-pound man who was in custody and being led down the hall by three officers.



Richardson declined comment when approached in the Town Hall parking lot after he and the other officers were notified of the town's disciplinary action Wednesday morning.

Municipal Resources' report also states Laurent said he was “100 percent convinced that he did the right thing” by using oleoresin capsicum, a chemical agent commonly known as pepper spray, to subdue Bergeron while Bergeron was already on the ground.



Municipal Resources makes a case that this wasn't needed because Bergeron was still “stunned” by Richardson's blow, and the report also states Laurent sprayed him without issuing the warning that the department's policies require officers to issue before using the chemical.



Dietenhofer didn't make physical contact with Bergeron during the alleged assault, although Municipal Resources found that he didn't mention Richardson's slamming of Bergeron in his official report of the incident. Municipal Resources also wrote in its final report that Dietenhofer did little to alert superiors that he was “uncomfortable” with the force Richardson used or the “smack sound” that it created when Bergeron hit the wall.



Wasson was demoted to patrolman due to supervisory “failures” in connection with the incident, which Municipal Resources found had “became common knowledge” to some individuals within the department because unnamed officers “would make comments about the incident in roll call and other places.”



Bitomske, who was acting chief at the time of the incident, and current Deputy Police Chief Mike Gallagher, who was a lieutenant at the time, have said they didn't learn about the alleged assault until Bergeron posted the video — which he obtained through the help of legal counsel during the discovery portion of his DWI trial — on Jan. 6.



Bitomske said this aspect of the incident has prompted himself and others to begin overhauling “100 or some odd policies” within the department to ensure Seabrook officers are better trained, officers aren't acting illegally, and that issues don't go unreported to the department's supervisors.



Among the planned policy changes are the ones governing the dissemination of surveillance footage when residents request a copy through a discovery motion. Gallagher said currently the footage “may not” appear on a monitor when an officer fulfills this “routinely” handled request, which he said could be the reason why no officers saw Bergeron's alleged assault when Bergeron's copy was made.



“We will be improving (that),” he said. “Right now an officer sets the (date and time) parameters… and walks away.”



Bitomske said he believes these policy and personnel changes, in addition to the continued dedication to protect the community, will be among ways the department can regain the public's trust in the wake of the alleged assault.



“No chief wants something like this to happen on his watch,” said Bitomske, who also said he will request Thursday that Manzi authorize him to hire full-time replacements for Richardson and Laurent.



Joyce Bergeron said her son, who is currently incarcerated following recent convictions in multiple unrelated criminal matters, “will be very happy” to learn about the town's disciplinary decisions because it's the very reason why her son wanted to post the video in the first place.



“Michael really just did this because he didn't want anybody else to get hurt,” she said. “It did bother him.”