Investigation into Canaan police use of force released

May 14—CONCORD — Authorities have released a 17-page report into the use of force by former Canaan police officer Samuel Provenza during a November 2017 arrest.

The release follows a New Hampshire Supreme Court ruling last month. The high court determined that the investigation by an outside consultant into an excessive force complaint is a public record that should be released under the New Hampshire Right-to-Know Law. It contains a small number of redactions.

The ACLU-New Hampshire represented the Lebanon-based Valley News newspaper in fighting for the release. The Union Leader Corp. and the New England First Amendment Coalition filed an amicus brief on behalf of the newspaper.

The incident involved Crystal Eastman, whom Provenza pulled over during a traffic stop on Nov. 30, 2017.

According to court filings, Provenza pulled Eastman — who is 5-foot-2 and 115 pounds — out of her car by her ponytail, kneed her in the left leg and tossed her to the ground.

The consultant, Mark Myrdek of Municipal Resources Inc., determined that Eastman suffered an injury consistent with contact of her knee, and not a mere twisting of her knee.

Although Provenza denied pulling Eastman's hair, witnesses said he did so, which "raises a question of Officer Provenza's credibility during this investigation," the report reads.

But the report said the excessive force complaint cannot be sustained because a question remains about whether the contact was intentional or unintentional.

Provenza left the Canaan police to become a New Hampshire State Police trooper.