A former New Hampshire State Police trooper accused of violently beating a police chase suspect in May pleaded guilty Thursday.
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Simone’s attorney, Joseph Comenzo, was also in attendance to argue Monaco should serve jail time.
In court Thursday, Monaco apologized to his former fellow troopers and to the citizens of New Hampshire for beating Simone. Flynn, who has been on paid leave with the Massachusetts State Police, has been charged with two counts of simple assault against Simone.
The plea has several provisions, including 120 hours of community service, relinquishing his New Hampshire law enforcement certification, undergoing an anger management evaluation and counseling, promising to not seek another law enforcement job nor a job that requires he carry a firearm, issue a public apology to Simone, and pay restitution, which will likely include Simone’s medical bills. Andrew Monaco, 31, was caught on camera May 11 repeatedly punching a suspect who was down on the ground surrendering.
When investigators interviewed the other law enforcement officers present at the arrest, none could provide any reason for the amount of force used by Monaco and Flynn, court records show. He said he immediately knew his actions were wrong.
Under New Hampshire law, because Monaco was an on-duty law enforcement officer at the time, each charge is subject to an enhanced penalty of up to five years, the attorney general said. Prosecutors said his acknowledgement of his actions played a big part in the agreement to avoid jail time. He took immediate responsibility, and we don’t see that frequently in cases of this type.
The attorney for Simone, Joseph Comenzo, said his client is not satisfied with the plea deal, and Simone still has daily pain and blurry vision from the assault. Monaco said he was unable to separate the events from the lengthy motor-vehicle pursuit from the arrest process, and therefore agreed to end his career that he has dreamed about since he was a child.
“Generally speaking, individuals who commit simple assault with no record don’t receive any jail time”, he said after the hearing.
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“This isn’t just his opinion of the message – this is the message that is being sent, that there is two sets of rules”, said Comenzo, maintaining an average defendant not in law enforcement and facing the same charges would serve jail time. The Massachusetts State Police are conducting an internal investigation. A pre-trial conference is set for October.
