Family, Friends of Slain Chief Reflect on Loss

Editor's note: This is the third installment in a five-day series reflecting on the one-year anniversary of the Greenland police shootings.

A year has passed since a deadly shootout shook the Seacoast, and while days and months have come and gone, for many the raw pain and emotional scars inflicted by the events are still fresh.

Every day, the family and friends of Greenland Police Chief Michael Maloney take a step toward moving past April 12, 2012 — the day Maloney was killed while attempting to rescue officers shot during a drug raid at 517 Post Road in Greenland.

Maloney's sister Kathleen, who asked that her last name not be used, said her brother's involvement in the Seacoast area was enormous, and the connections he forged are what have carried the Maloney family through the trying aftermath of the chief's death. 

The posthumous awards, medals and honors bestowed upon Maloney have helped ease the pain, although Kathleen said the grieving process would be unbelievably more difficult without the overwhelming support her family has received from the community.

"Everyone has really helped us through it, with everyone being there for everyone," said Kathleen, whose brother was a North Hampton resident, former North Hampton police chief and a Winnacunnet High School graduate. "It really is a huge extended family. I didn't know how many people were a part of it. I really didn't know how many people he touched until [thousands gathered on St. Patrick's Day in his honor]. It really is amazing. It's really nice to see how the whole community has rallied around him."

[A YouTube video featuring loved ones and coworkers discussing Maloney's life is attached above.]

That community can't always be around, though, and the small, private moments are when the family feels the loss the most. Little reminders and memories of their son, brother and friend Mike are everywhere, and they've revealed themselves at unexpected times.

Other moments are a little easier to prepare for, although Kathleen said that doesn't make them any easier to handle. One such day was Groundhog Day — or as Feb. 2 is better known to the Maloney family, Mike's birthday.

The day also falls within a cluster of birthdays for the Maloney family, and this added immeasurable grief this year as they tried to celebrate the stretch of anniversaries like they typically do.

"It's hard," said Kathleen.

The Maloney family, as well as the four other officers shot on April 12, 2012 — Newmarket Detective Scott Kukesh, University of New Hampshire Detective Eric Kulberg, Rochester Detective Jeremiah Murphy and Dover Detective Gregory Turner — have largely stayed out of the public eye and declined media interviews as they have grieved and attempted to move on from the traumatic incident.

Brian Page, who succeeded Maloney as North Hampton's police chief in 2000, said that's understandable and expected.

"If it was my family, I think my family would be ready to move on at this point," Page said. "I think the more memorial services [and other events] there are, the harder they are on the family."

That doesn't mean, though, that family and friends haven't organized or attended events, nor does that mean they've attempted to keep their love for Maloney a secret.

Kathleen commemorated her brother's birthday this year by tattooing his badge number — 260, a number that has become an important symbol in the Seacoast law enforcement community — around a heart on her arm. The colorful mark is Kathleen's first tattoo, and more importantly serves as another way for her to proudly bring a "great guy," one she was "blessed" to have known, wherever she goes.

Others have their own ways of paying tribute to Maloney in their day-to-day activities, whether it be wearing a "260" call sign sticker on their vehicles, or special ribbons and bracelets created by local residents.

The town of Greenland will host a moment of silence in Maloney's honor in front of the Greenland police station at 5 p.m. on Friday, a day which North Hampton Town Administrator Paul Apple said will be "somber," "reflective" and "definitely a tough day for many."

Hampton, North Hampton and other Seacoast communities and law enforcement agencies won't be holding large vigils or gatherings of their own to pay tribute to Maloney so that they won't "overshadow Greenland" or take away from the power of that ceremony, according to Apple.

Officers from Hampton, North Hampton, Portsmouth and other towns are expected to take part in Greenland's ceremony, and Apple, Page and Hampton Police Chief Jamie Sullivan said they also expect many residents and officers to find other ways to celebrate the chief's life.

"I think a lot of people knew him very, very well, and I think those people are going to do their own thing," said Apple. "Even though I've only been here 2-1/2 months, it's very apparent he was very well liked and respected."

Greenland's moment of silence on Friday will be followed by a community talent show hosted by Greenland Central School at 6 p.m. School and town officials hope plenty of smiles and stories will be shared throughout the day as the Seacoast remembers one of its own. Officials are also wishing for something else on a day meant to honor happy memories of Maloney — not the tragic circumstances of his passing.

"I would imagine the day would be quiet," said Apple. "I hope it will be quiet in many respects."

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