Out-of-court settlement finally brings sad case to a close

Two lawmen at the scene soon after the deadly encounter; Ben Shannon (Lebanon Voice file photo; inset, Rochester Police photo)

BRENTWOOD, N.H. - Almost two and a half years after he was fatally shot by a Department of Probation and Parole officer, the family of Ben Shannon has reached an agreement with the state over their wrongful death suit that accused lawmen of making bad decisions the day of his death.

The deadly encounter occurred on March 10, 2014, around 3 p.m. as three Probation and Parole officers along with a Strafford County Sheriff's deputy attempted to serve an arrest warrant on Shannon at his mother's residence at 28 Perwinkle Drive inside the Saks Trailer Park on Milton Road in Rochester.

New Hampshire Department of Corrections Probation/Parole Officers Ian Stringer, Jason Wirth, and Benjamin Densmore along with Strafford County Sheriff Deputy Brian Hester were there to check up on Shannon's older brother, Wayne Jr., a parolee, and Ben Shannon, on whom an arrest warrant had been filed earlier in the day for not complying with bail conditions following his arrest in a Rochester convenience store robbery in February.

A 20-page report released by the Attorney General's Office in July 2014 found that Wirth fired the fatal shots after he thought Ben Shannon was pointing a gun at him and threatening police that he had a gun.

In the end the report surmises Ben Shannon was likely clutching a cellphone and pointing it at Wirth when the shots that killed him were fired. He died later that evening after being Medflighted to Maine Med in Portland.

The AG's report absolved all four lawmen in their use of deadly force.

Prior to the AG report coming out, Beverly Shannon, and her other son, Wayne Shannon, announced a wrongful death lawsuit in April 2014, citing police used improper procedures in seeking to arrest Ben Shannon.

Their attorney, Peter McGrath, said lawmen made poor decisions the day of the incident, adding they should have set up a perimeter, called for backup and set up a safe scene to take Shannon into custody.

A 24-page summary judgment from Rockingham Superior Court Judge David Anderson that was cataloged on Aug. 12 found that former SCSO Deputy Brian Hester did not bear civil liability in Shannon's death. The summary judgement title page notes, "Neither party, No costs, No further action."

Meanwhile, a parallel lawsuit against the three Probation and Parole officers never made it to summary judgment as the Attorney General's Office reached an out-of-court settlement with Beverly Shannon, which ended any need to call for a second judgment, Senior Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth A. Lahey said today.

Lahey noted a single lump-sum payment had been made to two plaintiffs as part of a settlement: one as Beverly Shannon and one as Beverly Shannon, executor of Ben Shannon's estate.

The summary judgment and out-of-court settlement ends a nearly 29-month court battle, motions of which fill three manila folders weighing almost five pounds.

McGrath did not return a phone call for comment on this article.