CONCORD, NH –Attorney General Gordon MacDonald on Thursday provided a statement regarding an incident that unfolded early Thursday morning in which a Weare officer was injured by gunfire and another Weare officer discharged his service weapon. They were responding to a domestic disturbance on Buckley Road in Weare.
Gordon described “an exchange of gunfire” between a second Weare officer and Jeffrey Clough-Garvin, the resident, after Clough-Garvin shot Officer William Lewis in the arm. That led to Clough-Garvin barricading himself inside the home. More police reinforcements were brought in at that time.
By 8:30 a.m. Clough-Garvin was discovered by police dead inside his residence. A female who was inside the residence at the time police initially responded to the 911 call was escorted from the home and she was removed to safety prior to the exchange of gunfire, Gordon said.
Buckley Road is near the All Seasons Campground, also on Buckley Road, off Route 114.
More information will be forthcoming following an autopsy and review of footage from police body cameras. A written version of Attorney General Gordon’s statement is below.
On August 1, 2019, at approximately 1:42 a.m. Weare Police officers responded to 236 Buckley Road in Weare, for a report of an ongoing domestic violence incident.
Once inside the residence, the officer encountered an adult male, Jeffrey Clough-Garvin, 43. During the encounter, Clough-Garvin fired a gun at the responding Weare Police Officers. Weare Police Officer William Lewis, 27, received a non-life threatening injury to his arm. The report of shots fired came in at approximately 1:48 a.m. and a report that an officer had been hit came in at approximately 1:49 a.m. Officer Lewis was transported to Concord Hospital where he is being treated.
The officers withdrew from the residence while the adult male was alone inside. At least one of the Weare officers fired his weapon.
New Hampshire State Police and its SWAT unit responded to the scene at about 2:30 a.m., according to state police. Clough-Garvin was found deceased in the residence shortly after 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
It is anticipated that an autopsy on Clough-Garvin will be conducted by the New Hampshire Chief Medical Examiner’s office on Friday, August 2, 2019.
The name of the second Weare Police Officer is being withheld pending the officer’s interview. The interview will take place as soon as possible.
The Weare Police Officers wore body cameras and it appears at this time that the cameras were operational and the images of this event were captured.
Other than Officer Lewis and Clough-Garvin, no other individuals were physically injured during this incident.
New Hampshire State Police had asked all residents in the area of Buckley Road to lock their doors, remain inside and shelter in place, but the order was lifted before 9 a.m. after the situation was declared to be under control, officials said.
Police from Weare, Henniker, Goffstown and New Hampshire State Police responded to the scene, sources said.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinckley is leading this investigation with the assistance of New Hampshire State Police. No further information is expected to be released until after Mr. Clough-Garvin’s autopsy is completed.
Anyone with information regarding this incident, or anyone who had contact with Mr. Clough-Garvin before August 1, 2019, is asked to contact Sargent Kelly Healey of the New Hampshire State Police Major Crime Unit at (603) 628-8477.
Officer Lewis will undergo surgery Thursday. He has been a Weare Police officer since July 2018.
