Cop's Murder Caught on Tape
More than a year after the fatal shootings, family and friends speak out.
July 10, 2008— -- A routine traffic stop ended in murder on the day police officer Bruce McKay pulled over Liko Kenney.
According to authorities, on May 11, 2007, Kenney, then 24, was speeding on Route 116 in Franconia, N.H. He continued to drive even as McKay's car followed him in pursuit. Finally, McKay stopped Kenney on the road. After he approached the car, McKay sprayed Kenney with pepper spray. When he turned to walk back to the police car Kenney pulled out a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol and fired seven shots, hitting McKay four times, according to Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Strelzin.
Almost the entire incident was recorded on the dash camera in McKay's police car. The footage was posted online and has been viewed more than a million times.
With a population of around 1,000, Franconia has only three full-time police officers which meant many people in town and nearby knew McKay.
"There are people that are supporters of Bruce and see him as a hero, and there are people who didn't agree with who he was, what he stood for," said McKay's fiance Sharon Davis-McKay, who took his name after his death. "His idea was that everything was black and white. Either you were following the law or you weren't. There were no gray areas."
"I think there are people out there who thought that Bruce McKay was kind of a hard-ass," said Strelzin. "He was somebody who was a stickler."
Despite what some perceived as a tough image, McKay was also known to help people out of the kindness of his heart, said Davis-McKay. During more than 11 years on the force, McKay received nearly 30 commendations. But during that time nine people also filed complaints about him.
When Rob Hayward, one of Kenney's friends, looks at the video he sees "a young guy who has been harassed a number of times and really, really believed -- because he told us -- that they were going to get him."
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