Officer Killed by Gunfire Entering Home

BRENTWOOD, N.H. – Brentwood Police Officer Steve Arkell was killed by gunfire before the home on Mill Pond Road exploded May 12, and a second officer escaped a hail of bullets while trying to help.

Arkell responded to the house for a reported domestic dispute between Walter Nolan, 86, and his son, Michael Nolan, 47, shortly after 4 p.m. After getting permission to enter the house, Arkell entered and the younger Nolan fired upon him, Attorney General Joseph Foster said at a news conference Tuesday.

Foster said two bodies, those of Arkell and Michael Nolan, were found in the burned remains of the house.

Associate Attorney General Jane Young said Arkell was the first on the scene. "Almost immediately witnesses indicated what they described as three volleys of gunfire," she said.

Fremont Police Officer Derek Franek was dispatched and arrived about five minutes later. 

He encountered Walter Nolan outside and asked him questions, but was unable to get any answers from him. He handcuffed Walter Nolan, and entered the house and was immediately met with gunfire. 

He noticed there was a wall that had been sprayed with bullets and he saw Arkell on his back.

"He walked toward him and saw that Officer Arkell had sustained what was later determine to be a fatal injury," Young said.

Franek, under fire, rushed to the back of the house and then jumped off a porch and into the tree line, according to Young. "The courage that he had to walk into that situation alone and try to do what he could to help his fellow officer ... is heroic," she said.

The homicide is under investigation and the property in Brentwood remains an active crime scene, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation among the investigators working it. Young said investigators will be on scene until Friday, if not longer.

"To say that it is completely devastated is an understatement," she said.

Young said neither Walter Nolan nor Michael Nolan are known to have criminal records, nor even motor vehicle records. This was the first time police officers were called to the scene.

Young said she had visited with Arkell's family. "Words cannot describe the pain that they have and they have asked me to ask all of you to please respect their privacy," she said.

Wayne Robinson, Brentwood's chief of police, said Arkell was a part-time officer and the town's animal control officer. "Steve Arkell meant a lot to my department," Robinson said. "Anything that Steve could do, he was there to do it. I just like to give everything that I can to the family, because we're all behind them."

The town of Brentwood has a candlelight vigil for Officer Arkell scheduled for Tuesday 7 p.m. at the Brentwood Recreation Center at 190 Route 125.