N.H. Attorney General Declines To Prosecute Police Officer For Drug Bust Fatality

A report by the New Hampshire attorney general says a tired police officer, poor planning and a series of bad decisions converged eight months ago to turn an attempted drug bust in Weare into a chaotic fatal shooting. Attorney General Joseph Foster ultimately opted not to prosecute Weare police officer Nicholas Nadeau for the death of Alex Cora DeJesus. The decision was made against a backdrop of laws and precedents that are weighted heavily in favor of a police officer's split-second judgment.  Even if an officer's perception is mistaken, he is spared legal consequences if he reasonably believed there was a threat to the officer or others.  But Foster was highly critical of what he called an "ill-conceived'' plan to snare DeJesus.  The victim's family intends to sue the department.