Manchester, Union Leader spar over video of library arrest

By MARK HAYWARD
New Hampshire Union Leader

Read the full story in The New Hampshire Union Leader

MANCHESTER — A judge is considering whether the public will get to see a surveillance recording of the tasing and arrest of a homeless man in the city library last September.

The Union Leader has taken the city of Manchester to court to obtain a copy of a library surveillance video that captured the arrest of Clifford Etadafimue on Sept. 24. A Nigerian immigrant, Etadafimue has been arrested several times in Manchester and Nashua for nonviolent crimes.

The city said the videotape would amount to an invasion of Etadafimue’s privacy, and that Etadafimue, who may be mentally incompetent, would be stigmatized by the release.

But during a hearing Wednesday at Hillsborough County Superior Court, a judge noted the surveillance tape is evidence that will likely end up before a jury.

“There’s no privacy interest at that point. Why is a privacy interest at this point that different?” said Superior Court Judge Larry Smukler.