Slain Officer's Father Asks N.H. to Name Part of Interstate for Son

Some Franconia residents want to honor Cpl. McKay. Others oppose the plan, saying they believe the officer incited the attack with aggressive police tactics.

N. Bruce McKay, the father of slain Franconia (N.H.) Police Cpl. Bruce McKay, has asked the state legislature to name part of Interstate 93 for his son.

"I would be very proud if those in the Legislature could acknowledge his efforts as a symbolic affirmation of all the citizens among us who continue to serve and protect and vote affirmatively to name this portion of the Notch in his honor," N. Bruce McKay wrote in an opinion piece published earlier this week in a local newspaper.

Cpl. McKay was shot to death in May by Easton resident Liko Kenney. A passer-by came to McKay's aid and shot and killed Kenney.

A New Hampshire House committee has voted to study the proposal.

Some Franconia residents want to honor Cpl. McKay. Others oppose the plan, saying they believe the officer incited the attack with aggressive police tactics.

Kenney's sister-in-law Beth Towle Kenney told the Concord Monitor that highway dedication bill would be a "stab in the back."

The stretch of road involved was reportedly one of Cpl. McKay's favorite location on his patrol route.

Cpl. McKay's father wrote: "I have waited these last eight months and watched as a community attempted to resolve the issues they had regarding the murder of my son, Cpl. Bruce McKay of Franconia, and now the apparent partial consensus that he somehow was responsible for his own death…I don't understand this argument on any level."

McKay wrote that he understands the sorrow felt by the Kenney family, since he is feeling the same loss. "Waste is waste, and the loss of a child is nearly unbearable regardless of the circumstances."

But McKay is firm in his resolve to see his son honored despite the opposition.

"A small sign along the highway may offend some of the citizenry of Franconia, but I am sure that in the hearts of the many this acknowledgement represents an extension of their continued commitment to never forget a fallen hero who was exclusively there for them," McKay wrote.

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