Troopers pay tribute to 4 people killed in 1997 shootings
COLEBROOK, N.H. — About 100 people, including two dozen law enforcement officers, gathered on Friday to remember two state troopers who were killed decades ago in one of the region’s worst shootings.
On Aug. 19, 1997, Leslie Lord and Scott Phillips were shot in Colebrook by an angry loner, Carl Drega, who had had repeated run-ins with local authorities. Drega then killed newspaper editor Dennis Joos and part-time judge Vickie Bunnell. He wounded four law enforcement officers pursuing him before he was killed in a shootout just across the Connecticut River in Vermont.
The gathering on Friday was to honour “the loved ones who never returned at the end of their shift,” said state police Sgt. Victor Muzzey, the assistant commander of Troop F, the unit to which Lord and Phillips were assigned.
“To remember them is not only our duty but our honour,” Muzzey told the crowd.