Murder of Michael Briggs


The murder of Michael Briggs took place on October 16, 2006, in Manchester, New Hampshire, United States. Police officer Michael Briggs was shot while on duty. Briggs was later transported to the hospital where he died of his injuries. The suspect, Michael "Stix" Addison, fled the state of New Hampshire, prompting a manhunt by police. Fifteen hours after the shooting, Addison was arrested in Dorchester, Massachusetts, waived domestic extradition, and was transported back to New Hampshire.
Prior to his return to New Hampshire, Addison was charged by Boston Police with being a fugitive from justice. Addison was transported to the Suffolk County Jail; bail was set at $2 million in bail. New Hampshire prosecutors sought the death penalty for Michael Addison, as killing the police officer qualified the crime as a capital murder. There was debate about the place of capital punishment in New Hampshire, which had not executed any person since the execution of Howard Long in 1939.
The October 16, 2006, shooting and a string of crimes that occurred a week earlier resulted in the arrest and questioning of two more people connected with Addison.
A week after the shooting, a memorial service and procession was held for Briggs in Manchester on October 21, 2006. In January 2007, the Manchester Police Department retired Michael Briggs' badge number in honor of the fallen officer. In March 2007 a trial date for Addison was set for early September 2008.
The capital murder trial of Addison was the first for the state since Gordon E. Perry was indicted for capital murder charges for the shooting of Officer Jeremy Charron in 1997. He was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. Addison is the only person on death row in the state. The state supreme court upheld his conviction and sentence in 2014-2015. The US Supreme Court declined to hear his case.

Background

Michael Briggs

Michael Briggs was born in Epsom, New Hampshire, and served in the United States Marines from 1991–1995 after graduating from Pembroke Academy in 1990. From 1995–2001 he worked as a correctional officer and a police officer for the Epsom Police Department from 1995–1998. On May 2, 2001, his 30th birthday, Briggs became a police officer for the Manchester Police Department and was assigned as a bicycle police officer. Briggs graduated from the New Hampshire Police Academy in November 2001. In 2004, he received a life-saving medal after saving residents from a burning building. He was awarded the Congressional Law Enforcement Award in October 2005 for the same actions. Briggs was a member of the New Hampshire Police Association. Briggs was married and the father of two young sons. He was a friend and co-worker of Jeremy Charron, who was killed on duty in August 1997.
In August, 2019, Mitchell Briggs, son of Michael Briggs, graduated from the NH Police Academy 18 years after his father did so.

Michael K. Addison

Born in Boston on March 19, 1980, Michael Addison was adopted at age two by Rosetta Addison, his maternal grandmother, and her husband Lucious Addison, a disabled Vietnam veteran. Lucious and Rosetta later divorced, and Rosetta reared her own teenage children and "Little Michael" in what was described as a chaotic setting. He attended high school in Dorchester but did not graduate. At trial, the defense presented material about Addison's troubled upbringing: he was adopted by his maternal grandmother at age two, and lived with her in Brockton, Massachusetts and also with his alcoholic mother in one of Boston's most violent and drug-ridden housing projects in the Roxbury neighborhood. The defense argued for life imprisonment without parole.
According to court records, in the ten years before the October 16, 2006, shooting, Addison had numerous run-ins with the police. On August 10, 1996, he beat his birth mother Cheryl Kiser, threatening to kill her. According to court filings, Kiser was a fifteen-year-old girl with a history of psychiatric problems when she became pregnant with Michael. She neglected prenatal care and engaged in violence, drug abuse and alcohol abuse during her pregnancy. According to the defense filing, serious prenatal and peri-natal complications of Kiser's pregnancy resulted in Michael Addison's having impaired brain function. Addison was charged in South Boston Juvenile Court with delinquent threatening and delinquent assault and battery against Kiser. He pleaded delinquent, and both charges were placed on file for the first-time offender.
According to court records, Addison was a 16-year-old juvenile in 1996 when he pointed a revolver at the face of another Dorchester high school student. The gun misfired and Manuel Andrade survived. Firearms expert Marc Dupre testified at the trial of Addison that the gun was in poor condition, but it was capable of firing a bullet. He said it might have been able to fire after several squeezes of the trigger or after moving the cylinder slightly. Addison was one of the first juveniles to be indicted under Massachusetts' new youthful offender law; it allowed him to be prosecuted as an adult and face potential adult penalties. He was subsequently charged with assault with intent to kill, assault and battery, and possession of a firearm and ammunition without a permit. On July 21, 1997, he pleaded guilty to the three charges. He was committed to state Department of Youth Services custody until his 21st birthday, followed by a suspended term of adult incarceration of two to three years.
According to court records, while out on bail awaiting trial for the 1996 offense, Addison was charged at age 17 with armed robbery and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for robbing, kicking and stabbing Tredaine Purdy in neighboring Roxbury on March 20, 1997. The incident took place at a park. Addison pleaded guilty in a plea agreement in December 1997 to armed robbery and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; the armed assault with intent to murder charge was dismissed under the plea agreement. He was sentenced to 2–3 years in secure juvenile facilities and state prison in Massachusetts, with three years of supervised probation to follow release from prison on his 21st birthday.
Addison was freed early on parole in September 2000. He met with his probation officer who was preparing paperwork to transfer his probation to New Hampshire as he requested. Addison left the state without the requisite permission. In November 2000, a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was brought to court in June 2001, and was released on bail, pending a hearing on the matter. He failed to appear for the hearing, and a second bench warrant was issued for the probation violation in July of that year.
At the time of the Briggs shooting, Michael "Stix" Addison was a resident of Manchester, New Hampshire. Addison had previous encounters with Officer Briggs in New Hampshire. In 2002, Addison was arrested by Briggs near the Queen City Bridge in Manchester. In March 2003, Addison received first aid from Briggs after a shooting incident, assistance which may have saved the young man's life. The shooter, Thomas Williams, was arrested July 15, 2003, and pleaded guilty in March 2004. In October 2006, Williams was given a deal for a shortened sentence contingent upon his testifying for the prosecution in the Officer Briggs murder case.
In October 2003, Addison was arrested in Londonderry, New Hampshire, and charged with false imprisonment, criminal restraint, prowling and criminal threatening. Addison pleaded guilty to criminal restraint of Brian St. Peter in the dispute over drug money, a misdemeanor; he was sentenced to six months in the Rockingham County House of Corrections. The other charges were dropped in the plea deal. On August 6, 2004, Addison stipulated to the fact that he had violated his Massachusetts probation by virtue of the false imprisonment. His probation was revoked, and he was sentenced to two to six months in the Suffolk County House of Correction in Massachusetts for violating the terms of his probation.
For the next two years, Addison was not known to have any criminal activity.

The shooting

According to court records, Addison was convicted of participating with Antoine Bell-Rodgers in three separate felonies in the six days preceding the Briggs shooting.
On October 16, 2006, Officer Michael Briggs and his partner John Breckenridge were responding to a domestic disturbance call involving Addison and Antoine Bell-Rodgers. When both officers spotted the suspects, Briggs ordered them to stop. Bell-Rodgers stopped but Addison continued walking away. When Officer Briggs instructed Addison to stop, Addison turned and shot Briggs before the officer could draw his weapon. Two other officers returned fire at Addison, who fled through an alleyway, dropping his handgun nearby. Bell-Rodgers surrendered to police but Addison fled the crime scene. Later, police found Addison's gun and T-shirt. In a court re-enactment, eyewitnesses claimed that moments before the shooting, they saw a dark gray van and two men jumping out of it and running north towards Lincoln Street where the shooting took place.
A manhunt was launched after the shooting, as SWAT teams and local police searched throughout the city of Manchester looking for Addison. A SWAT team searched the apartment building where Addison's girlfriend Angela Swist lived and found clothing stained with blood in a bathtub and a bottle of bleach nearby; they questioned Swist. Later the police executed search warrants at two other apartment buildings, based on Addison having been reported there, and found more evidence. Several schools were placed under lockdown as police and SWAT teams searched vehicles leaving or coming to work or school.
The search expanded into Massachusetts after an Internet search revealed Addison's previous address in Massachusetts and police using GPS tracked his cell phone calls to an apartment building outside of Boston. This is where police later found Addison. After a stand-off with police, Addison was arrested and held without bail.

Extradition and charges

Addison was extradited to New Hampshire, where he denied any role in the murder of Briggs. During a taped interview, Addison told his story six different times before confessing to authorities that he shot at the police officers coming toward him. The Manchester District Court charged Addison with capital murder. Attorney General Kelly Ayotte sought the death penalty as murder of a police officer may be punishable by death under the state's capital punishment law. Later Addison was also charged with armed robbery, conspiracy and felony possession of a firearm in relation to a five-day crime spree that started a week before the homicide.

Investigation and further arrests

An investigation conducted by local officials followed the shooting and established the following events.
OCT. 10, 2006
Antoine Bell-Rogers robs owner of El Mexicano restaurant in Manchester at gunpoint, firing one shot into the ceiling and one into the floor between the owner's legs, while Michael K. Addison robs a customer at knifepoint of $300 and a cell phone.
OCT. 11, 2006
Addison holds female clerk at 7-Eleven convenience store in Hudson at gunpoint while Bell-Rogers steals $280. During the investigation, his girlfriend Angela Swist and Teresia Shipley, another friend, turned themselves in to police after authorities issued warrants for their arrests. During an interview with police, Swist told officers that she drove Addison and Anthonie Rodgers to the 7-Eleven on October 11, where Addison and his accomplice robbed the store and fled. She also admitted that she was the driver of the get-away car.
OCT. 15, 2006
Addison and Bell-Rogers are involved in a gunfire incident on Edward J. Roy Drive in Manchester. Bell-Rogers, one of the men arrested at the scene of the October 16, 2006, shooting of Briggs, was later charged with firing a handgun at an apartment and felony possession of a firearm. He was not charged in connection with the shooting of officer Michael Briggs. A grand jury, however, charged Bell-Rogers with armed robbery and conspiracy for robbing a convenience store five days before the Briggs shooting. A bail of $50,000 was set in October 2006 and was upheld in January 2007. On March 5, 2007, Bell-Rodgers asked the court to have his felony charges dropped.
On March 28, 2007, the Hillsborough County Superior Court re-indicted Bell-Rogers on the weapons charges after a defense lawyer tried to dismiss Bell-Rogers' original indictment. That same day, Teresia Shipley pleaded guilty on charges of helping Addison rob a convenience store days before the shooting of Briggs.
After a number of charges were resolved either through conviction or plea, Antoine Bell-Rogers was sentenced to 60½ years in prison.

Trial and appeals

The trial was held in Hillsborough County Superior Court, Hon. Kathleen A. McGuire presiding, case # 2007-S-00254.
Pretrial:
Trial:
Appeals:
"With respect to the issues raised by the defendant on appeal, we find no reversible error. Accordingly, we affirm the defendant's conviction for capital murder. Furthermore, we conclude that the sentence of death was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary factor, and that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's findings of aggravating circumstances. We note that our review of the defendant's sentence is not yet complete. Only after additional briefing and oral argument on comparative proportionality under RSA 630:5, XI will we conclude our review of the defendant's sentence of death, at which time we will issue a further opinion." As to the open question, the relevant statute reads, "XI. With regard to the sentence the supreme court shall determine:... Whether the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the crime and the defendant."

US Supreme Court denies certiorari:
Habeas Corpus:
The Concord Monitor reports, "Presently, Addison is appealing his conviction on habeus corpus grounds. Progress on that petition, launched in 2016, has ground to a near halt in Merrimack County Superior Court amid a flurry of mostly-sealed petitions over the years. But its existence has put a stop to a key catalyst: the one-year countdown clock between the end of Addison’s appeals and the possibility of an execution."

Aftermath

Charities for Briggs family

The Manchester Police Patrolman's Association set up a charity fund for the Briggs family after the shooting. A charity set up in the Portsmouth Police Department raised more than $13,000, while residents of Portsmouth raised over $1,000. The Manchester Monarchs ice hockey team, in partnership with WGIR AM and FM radio, raised more than $55,000 through auctions.
The president of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health gave the mayor of Manchester a $5,000 check during a ceremony. The organization also set up a scholarship for the children of Michael Briggs, which covers the tuition at the college in Manchester.
The only report of a charity scam was from Boston; two men were arrested. Police reports indicated that the men took advantage of Officer Briggs' murder by going around and asking for money for the Briggs family. About 62 people were reported being scammed by the perpetrators. Both men were charged with running the scam and impersonating police officers. Both men were held on $10,000 bail.

Memorial

On October 21, 2006, family and friends of Michael Briggs and many others gathered at a memorial service held at the Lambert Funeral Home and later at the Merchantsauto.com Stadium after a long funeral procession through the city. Nearly 800-4,000 officers from across the state of New Hampshire attended the memorial service. Flowers and makeshift memorials were left at the police station as a tribute to Briggs. Representatives of the American Red Cross also attended the memorial service.
The city closed down parts of Elm Street for the funeral and procession; it suspended parking and meter restrictions.
The Union Leader newspaper named Michael Briggs as the "New Hampshire Citizen of the Year" on December 31, 2006. On January 27, 2007, the Manchester Police Department retired the badge number of Officer Michael Briggs during a ceremony outside the police station. In addition, the police department presented his family with the flag that flew over the police station the day of his death. A plaque featuring Briggs' photography was installed in the front lobby of the police department.
On March 20, 2007, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats minor league baseball team announced that they would retire the number 83 in honor of Officer Briggs on May 21, 2007. The number will be retired next to the number of Jackie Robinson. In addition, team members will wear special jerseys carrying the patch of the Manchester Police Department and Officer Briggs' badge number.
In Epsom, a traffic circle was renamed on June 4, 2007, to honor officers Michael Briggs and Jeremy Charron.

Responses

Political response

The shooting, the police dragnet, the capture of the suspect, the time lag until the officer's death, the funeral, the extradition, all the hearings and trials that took place thereafter, to say nothing of the potential for the ultimate punishment have made for high drama for New Hampshire media buffs.
Many local and state news media outlets in New Hampshire and Massachusetts reported the death and memorial of Officer Briggs. Many local newspapers like the New Hampshire Union Leader had special coverage of the shooting and memorial on their websites. Other newspapers like the Portsmouth Herald, Boston Globe and the Washington Post also reported on the shooting and memorial of Michael Briggs.
Many television stations in New Hampshire also reported on the shooting and memorial of the fallen officer. One station, WMUR, televised the funeral procession and memorial service on October 21, 2006. However, a court ruling prohibited television and radio stations performing live broadcast of the murder trial according to a rule started by the New Hampshire Supreme Court in 2004. WMUR petitioned that ruling, and on April 13, 2007, another court ruling stated that the pre-trial hearings could be broadcast on television on a one-hour delay in case something unexpected occurs that cannot be televised. The local television station again petitioned for live, streaming coverage of the trial and the court granted their request over the defense team's objections, while limiting the scope of their coverage.
The shooting also attracted attention from television networks outside of New Hampshire, such as MSNBC and Fox News, which covered the shooting, trial and memorial on their websites.
New Hampshire Public Radio also aired coverage of the death of Michael Briggs and the memorial service.
Michael Briggs' memorial was also posted on social networking sites like MySpace and YouTube.