A citizen's recording of a “wanted incident” helped with internal police investigations

MANCHESTER, NH – Manchester Police Officer Austin Biery turned off his body-worn camera (BWC) before telling a homeless man who was stopped while defecating and injecting drugs in an alley that they were going to play a game of “Manhunt” and he would give him a 20-minute head start.

Only because local resident Caitlyn Reilly recorded the August 12, 2024, encounter did the public learn that Biery and other officers cursed at the man and, after he ran away, laughed as an officer counted down over the patrol car's loudspeaker system: “One Mississippi. Two Mississippi…”

Reilly, who lives at The Flats, 235 Hanover St., filmed the incident on her cellphone. Looking out her window into the alley, she witnessed an officer on a motorcycle and two uniformed officers confronting the man on Londonderry Lane, near Union Street. Another officer using a loudspeaker was in a patrol car. Two other officers were in another patrol car, out of view of the camera, but neither of them got out of the patrol car or were involved in the incident.

On Tuesday, police announced that disciplinary action had been taken against the officers involved.

According to disciplinary letters from Manchester Police, the following actions were taken against the officers involved:

• Officer Austin Biery's two-day suspension was stayed for one year, conditioned on his failure to commit any further violations. He must complete sensitivity training and was also suspended from his duties as a Field Training Officer for one year.
• Officer James McCoy received a written warning for making “childish comments” over the loudspeaker system of a patrol car.
• Officer Dominic Sardo was suspended for four days and placed on “suspension” for two days (on condition that he commit no further violations). He was ordered to complete sensitivity training.

No disciplinary action was taken against Zachary Chivell, an officer in training under Biery's supervision.

Manchester Ink Link has obtained Sergeant Amanda Smith's 25-page internal investigation report into the incident and the officers' actions.

She tried to locate the homeless man, whose name is redacted in the released documents, but was unable to make a connection to him.

Biery, she wrote, admitted to asking the man, “What if I poop on your mother's doorstep?” He repeatedly told the man to go back to Rochester, they didn't want him in Manchester. He explained to him that if he defecated in public and pulled out his genitals, he was a sex offender. “Don't you fucking pull your pants down in public because if I see that, I'll throw you through a wall,” he told him.

Smith wrote that “such comments require little explanation to see why they are inappropriate, rude and clearly unprofessional. Of course, Biery's anger and frustration are clearly evident in his choice of words and behavior.”

The man, she said, was non-confrontational but evasive and deceitful. Earlier that day, he had been arrested for injecting heroin in public. That night, Biery found a heroin-filled syringe in the alley where he was and saw fresh blood in the crook of the man's right arm's elbow, consistent with attempts to insert the syringe into his arm. The man insisted he was not on drugs and said he was trying to get his children back.

“You don't give a shit about your kids because you'd rather shoot yourself in a damn alley than be a damn father,” Biery told him.

Smith said that while watching the video uploaded to Manchester Ink Link, she saw Biery turn off his BWC, “expecting to end his interaction with (the man). Inexplicably, however, Biery continues to interact with (the man) and says, '(name deleted), we are now going to play a game of 'Manhunt.' I am giving you a 20-minute head start, and if I see you again, you are going to jail.”

Biery told Smith the comment was unplanned and poorly worded. He said the statement was meant to encourage the man to “keep a low profile,” not to go and relieve himself elsewhere and not to let officers catch him doing the same thing a block away. Biery said by letting him go and not arresting him, they wanted to use their discretion and “give him a chance.”

“Of course, Biery's (sic) poor choice of words turned what should have been a professional situation into a game,” Smith wrote.

After the officer told the man to leave, they began counting: “One Mississippi. Two Mississippi.” Biery, Smith wrote, tells Officer McCoy, who can be heard over the loudspeaker, to say over the PA system, “Whether you're ready or not, we're coming!” When asked, Biery said the comment was meaningless and showed poor judgment.

He told Smith he could not express “how much he wished he had handled the call differently. He stated he had never done anything like that before and it was probably one of the worst moments of his career. He wished he had done anything other than what he did. He lost emotional control. Of course, Biery stated he was very sorry, it was not acceptable and he took full responsibility for everything,” Smith wrote.

In her report, she said Biery's statement about a “manhunt” and the officers' subsequent conduct “turned what should have been a professional situation into a child's play, thereby bringing him and the Manchester Police Department into disrepute,” Smith wrote.

Biery, she wrote, has never had a “sustained civil complaint” filed against him. However, in January 2022, he was given oral counseling in connection with a BWC review regarding a “poorly worded comment he made.” He took responsibility and said he understood how his words could be misconstrued. Biery has also received several compliments and awards during his time with the Manchester Police Department.

Biery, Smith said, violated the department's policy on prohibited conduct because he was rude and behaved in a manner unworthy of an officer.

She recommended that he be disciplined. The department's administrative staff agreed with her assessment.

Dominc Sardo, who was riding his motorcycle, never activated his BWC. He said he was there as backup and believed the situation was under control and his assistance was not needed. However, Smith said Sardo had been asked by Biery to look for drug paraphernalia in the area and given Sardo's proximity to the stopped man and his clear line of sight to him, he should have turned on the camera.

He can also be heard on the recording telling the man, “I guarantee. I'll bet $100 on my damn paycheck that I'll see you tomorrow.” The man had said he would return to Rochester. Sardo, asked why he made the comment, said he wanted to make it clear to the man that he believed he was lying.

Watching Reilly's video, Smith said, “You can hear Sardo laughing as Officer McCoy counts over the PA system, 'One Mississippi. Two Mississippi, REDACT.'”

Smith said the recording shows officers laughing during the countdown. “Such behavior is clearly childish and reflects poorly on him and the officers,” Smith wrote.

She found that Sardo had violated BWC procedures, but although he laughed at the countdown, she said an allegation of discourtesy was unfounded. Assistant Chief Peter Marr and Captains Sean Leighton and John Cunningham agreed to formal disciplinary action because Sardo had failed to activate BWC. However, they also said the allegation of disciplinary action represented conduct unbecoming of an officer and warranted disciplinary action.

Smith recommended informal disciplinary action against McCoy for misusing his patrol car's loudspeaker and making childish comments (“One Mississippi. Two Mississippi.”), but Captains Sean Leighton and John Cunningham and Assistant Chief Peter Marr disagreed, saying his behavior warranted formal disciplinary action.

McCoy then received a written warning.