Counsel for Campbell: AG Investigation a 'Fishing Expedition'

Gerald R. Prunier, an attorney representing state Rep. David Campbell, D-Nashua, referred to the Attorney General's investigation into his client running over ducks as a "fishing expedition." 

The remarks come as Attorney General Joseph Foster announced April 24 that his office concluded the investigation into the events of Dec. 23, 2013.

Below is the full Prunier press release:

My client, David Campbell, stands behind the several apologies and statements he has made regarding the incident of December 23, 2014. He fully cooperated with the investigation by the Nashua Police Department, and was issued a violation to which Mr. Campbell pleaded no contest, and paid the court ordered restitution and fines. He made a voluntary contribution to New Hampshire Audubon. 

Because Mr. Campbell’s friend and personal attorney Thomas Pappas was also a Nashua Police Commissioner, the Attorney General launched a probe into whether there was any wrongdoing regarding the police investigation of the incident. My client, on the advice of his criminal attorney, Eric Wilson, declined to be interviewed because Mr. Campbell’s case had already been adjudicated. The Nashua Police investigation was proven to be professionally conducted and thorough. 

However, the Attorney General’s investigation turned into an exhaustive and unproductive fishing expedition into Mr. Campbell’s personal life. What the investigation and report totally fails to take into account in the evening’s events, is the role of my client’s chief accuser, Mr. James Murphy. 

Mr. Murphy was a Southwest Airline Pilot on layover at the Crowne Plaza hotel, where he had stayed before. The other witnesses at the scene were primarily comprised of his flight crew. Mr. Murphy and his crew were improperly feeding wild ducks in the driveway of the hotel at 10 o’clock at night in front of a sign that says: “Please Do Not Feed the Waterfowl.” The hotel staff confirmed with Police that the roadway was not a one-way. After Mr. Campbell stopped his vehicle and got out of his car, he was immediately confronted by a highly agitated and screaming Mr. Murphy, who came within inches of his face, cursed at him and shouted that “they were feeding those ducks.” 

Mr. Murphy continually yelled, harassed and followed my client. He shouted “Oh my God, he’s a State Senator.” Mr. Campbell saw Mr. Murphy photograph his license plate, from which he was aware that he could obtain his personal information, including his home address. At the time, my client had no idea who Mr. Murphy was, where he lived, or what he was capable of. Given his highly agitated and threatening disposition which included “I am going to make you hurt like the ducks,” several assertions of his being “an ex-Marine,” and his statement that my client was going to be his “mission,” Mr. Campbell told the Police he was concerned for his safety, feared a physical altercation, and walked across the parking lot to his office building. 

The investigation also failed to mention that on the day after Christmas, Mr. Murphy sent out inaccurate and defamatory emails to the House Republican Leader and several New Hampshire media outlets calling my client “a senior Democrat”, signing it as “a concerned citizen.” 

The evidence shows that Mr. Campbell was not impaired by alcohol, but that he was very upset about running over the ducks, and concerned for his safety that evening. His subsequent actions are consistent with those concerns. My client was completely truthful with the Nashua Police, although the Attorney General’s report does not fully disclose all the statements he made. 

Attorney General investigators chose to pursue a line of questioning of witnesses, which indicated another pre-determined conclusion. This investigation and report seems more aimed at destroying Mr. Campbell’s reputation than the pursuit of justice. The fact that over a dozen of Mr. Campbell’s friends were interviewed shows the extent of the inquiry, which produced no conclusion of illegal conduct. 

There are 115 unsolved murders in New Hampshire. This report regarding my client, consumed over a hundred hours of the State’s limited investigative resources, and thousands of taxpayers’ dollars, and calls into question the priorities of the Attorney General’s office.