Whitefield Man Involved In NH State Trooper Shooting Had Priors

CONCORD, NH — On Dec. 23, New Hampshire State Trooper Matthew Merill attempted to stop a vehicle in Dalton.

The vehicle, described as a black Lincoln MKZ, pulled over. A short time after calling in the vehicle stop, Merrill radioed in that shots had been fired and he had been hit by gunfire.

The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, shortly after the incident, said the trooper had been shot and a man was killed in the exchange of gunfire. The man who died was identified as Mark R. Clermont, 45, of Whitefield. The autopsy ruled the death was caused by a single gunshot wound to the head.

Merrill was transported from the scene with multiple gunshot wounds and brought to the Littleton Hospital. He was then flown by DHART Medical Helicopter to Dartmouth Medical Center in Lebanon. He remains in the hospital in stable condition and is expected to survive his wounds.

Court records show that Clermont, has had 31 interactions with the state court system dating back to 1994. Many of the interactions were related to driving offenses, DUIs, and drug-related charges. Some charges involved criminal mischief, assault, and disobeying an office.

Clermont’s most recent case involved charges in Manchester on July 30, 2019.

In the Manchester case, according to court documents, an officer stopped a black Lincoln MKZ which proceeded through a red light at the Amoskeag Traffic Circle. Clermont was the front seat passenger in the vehicle driven by a woman.

Based on suspicious movement by Clermont, the officer received permission from the driver to do a consent search of the vehicle. While searching the vehicle, the officer unscrewed the cap from a flashlight under the seat and revealed a small bag containing what was later verified to be methamphetamine. Clermont was placed under arrest and later found guilty on the drug charge.

Prior to the Manchester incident, he was found guilty in several cases including:

• July 2016 Driving Under The Influence and interfering with an inter-lock device.
• May 2016 Driving Under Revocation and interfering with an inter-lock device.
• June 2015 Aggravated Driving Under The Influence and interfering with an inter-lock device.
• June 2015 Criminal Mischief
• May 2008 Habitual Offender
• May 2008 Two Drug-related charges
• May 2008 Disobeying A Police Officer

The investigation into the shooting in Dalton, which left Clermont dead from a gunshot wound, remains an active investigation.