By Dan O’Brien Holding signs that read, “Support SRO Defina” and “Agrafiotis is our dirty laundry,” a group of a dozen people held a protest against the town’s police chief outside the Wednesday, Nov. 4, Town Council meeting. The group set up a clothes line that held protest signs with clothes pins while one ...

By Dan O’BrienThe labor union representing fired Hooksett police officer Jason Defina has filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the state Public Employee Labor Relations Board. The complaint, filed Oct. 16, accuses Hooksett Police Chief Stephen Agrafiotis and the Hooksett Police Commission of terminating Defina without just cause ...

By Dan O’Brien David Gagnon stepped down as chairman of the Hooksett Police Commission on Thursday, Oct. 29, after five years on the board, saying the job is too time consuming. “I don’t have the time,” Gagnon said. “Work is too busy. It’s crazy right now.” Joanne McHugh, who was appointed to the ...

BY DAN O'BRIEN Hooksett’s three Police Commission members said they would recuse themselves from handling a grievance filed by former police officer Jason Defina. Defina, a 10-year Hooksett Police Department veteran, was fired by the commission in a 2-1 vote Sept. 8. The decision, made Sept. 28, comes less than two weeks after state ...

Dan O’Brien The chairman of the Hooksett Police Commission is defending the Hooksett police chief, who reportedly made a remark to a town councilor that some interpreted as a threat. “He could not have said that,” said David Gagnon, Police Commission chairman. Gagnon is referring to a comment Chief Stephen Agrafiotis allegedly ...

By Lauren Sausser The Hooksett Town Council unanimously voted at its meeting July 8 to add two members to the Police Commission, but it will take an act of the Legislature and approval of town voters to make it happen. The Hooksett Police Commission, which now consists of three appointed members and oversees budgetary and personnel issues of the ...

By Lauren SausserJoanne McHugh was chosen to replace Marianne Maksalla on the Hooksett Police Commission on June 24 by the Hooksett Town Council. Also under consideration were Clark Karolian, Richard Sullivan and Steven L’Heureux. There was some controversy regarding the council’s unwritten policy not to appoint anyone with police ...

By Lauren Sausser Although Police Commissioners Henry Roy and David Gagnon expressed in two confidential letters their shared belief that no one with prior police experience should sit on the Hooksett Police Commission, they ultimately have no say in the matter. On June 10, the Hooksett Town Council nominated four potential candidates for ...

By Ginger Kozlowski The Hooksett Police Commission has refused to look into a complaint filed against the police chief because it was unsigned, despite its own policy allowing anonymous complaints. A document was filed with the Hooksett Police Commission on Tuesday, May 19, asking for an investigation into Police Chief Stephen Agrafiotis, ...

By Ginger Kozlowski Hooksett town elections take place May 12, but there’s one job in town that soon expires which residents won’t be able to vote on – that of police commissioner. The Hooksett Police Commission is staffed by three members, each appointed by the Hooksett Town Council. They serve three-year terms, and each year ...