A quiet Tuesday morning on Laurel Street turned tense for hours as Manchester police tried to coax a 50-year-old man out of a home, then ultimately called in SWAT and less-lethal munitions to bring the standoff to an end without any reported injuries.
How the standoff unfolded
Officers were dispatched to the Laurel Street address at about 8:30 a.m. for a reported violation of bail conditions. Police say the first officer on scene used repeated verbal announcements asking the man to come outside. Instead, he refused to leave the building and began yelling from inside.
As the situation dragged on, additional units responded, including SWAT and a drone team. Negotiators continued to try to talk the man out, this time using a loudspeaker, but police say he still would not surrender.
After several hours of unsuccessful negotiations, officers decided to escalate their tactics. According to Newport Dispatch, SWAT officers breached a window and deployed 40mm less-lethal munitions, which allowed them to move in and take the man into custody without further incident. Police reported no additional injuries tied to the operation.
Authorities later identified the suspect as 50-year-old Edward Kleinfeldt of Manchester. “Kleinfeldt was charged with breach of bail, stalking domestic violence, criminal threatening and resisting arrest,” Newport Dispatch reported. Details about his booking or arraignment were not disclosed.
Another Laurel Street incident this month
This was not the first time this month that Laurel Street has seen a major SWAT presence. Earlier in February, Manchester police spent multiple hours in a separate standoff on the same street, ultimately arresting a different suspect and reporting the discovery of drugs and a firearm. That earlier case, involving a six-hour operation and a felony suspect, was detailed in coverage of the previous Laurel Street SWAT raid, underscoring how the same block has drawn repeated police attention in a short span of time.
What the charges mean under New Hampshire law
Under New Hampshire law, stalking that involves intimate partners or household members can be recorded as “stalking-domestic violence.” The conduct is prosecuted under RSA 633:3-a, which defines stalking as a criminal offense and includes specific provisions and penalties for cases classified as domestic violence. The statute’s language and penalty framework are set out in RSA 633:3-a.
The state’s bail laws also give courts broad tools to respond when someone allegedly violates pretrial release conditions. Judges can revoke a defendant’s release, order detention, or pursue contempt or breach-of-bail charges under the bail provisions laid out in RSA Chapter 597.
