CONCORD, N.H. — A recently elected Republican state lawmaker enraged his constituents, party leaders and police by saying he favors killing police officers.

Tom Alciere, 41, won a seat in the New Hampshire House on his fourth try after a low-key campaign last fall. It wasn’t until late in 2000 that his constituents in Nashua learned of his anti-police views from a newspaper that linked him to anti-police postings on the Internet.

“Nobody asked,” he said. “For state representative, you don’t have to tell where you stand on the issues.”

Alciere told the Valley News of Lebanon that he loves it when someone kills a police officer: “It’s unfortunate that cops do make it necessary [to kill them] when they’re waging a war on drugs, and I view cops as enemy officers.” He said he is “too chicken” to do it himself.

After professing “there’s no way I’m going to resign,” Alciere surprised everyone and relieved many when he finally resigned from his position in the New Hampshire House. He reserved the right to run in the special election that would be needed to fill his Nashua seat. He gave no reason for his change of heart.