New HampshireDepartment of JusticeOffice of the Attorney General

News Release

For Immediate Release
December 26, 2020

Contact:
Kate Giaquinto, Director of Communications
kate.giaquinto@doj.nh.gov | 603-573-6103

Jeffery A. Strelzin, Associate Attorney General
jeffery.strelzin@doj.nh.gov | (603) 271-3671

Shane Goudas, Assistant Attorney General

Disclosure of the Trooper's Name from the December 23, 2020 Officer-Involved Shooting Incident in Dalton, New Hampshire

Concord, NH – Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald releases the name of the Trooper involved in the incident that took place on Wednesday, December 23, 2020, in Dalton, New Hampshire, in which Mark R. Clermont (age 45) was shot and killed.

The Trooper who discharged his firearm during the incident was New Hampshire State Police Trooper Matthew Merrill. Trooper Merrill has been a law enforcement officer for approximately eleven years. He joined the New Hampshire State Police in 2012. Prior to that he worked as a Grantham Police Officer from 2008 to 2012.

Trooper Merrill remains hospitalized where he is being treated for gunshot wounds and is in stable condition.

The exact circumstances surrounding this incident remain actively under investigation. No further updates are expected until the investigation is completed.

New Hampshire Department of Justice
1 Granite Place South | Concord, NH | 03301
Telephone: 603-271-3658