5/15/25 Bristol, NH – Police Chief Was Not Home When His Police Car Was Stolen From His Home – Investigation Continues

The chief of police in Bristol is back at work after being placed on paid leave related to someone taking his gun and cruiser.

News 9 Investigates used right-to-know requests to uncover details about what happened.

According to the documents News 9 Investigates obtained, at the end of March, Chief Kristopher Bean was out of town when someone took his service weapon and his police vehicle from his house.

The people involved fired shots from that gun in a neighboring town.

Last month, Bean was put on paid leave for about a week during an investigation, but he is now back on the job.

News 9 learned of the incident when it happened, but the town would not release any information on it. Through the right-to-know request, News 9 found that the town requested that a different police department conduct an internal investigation into the chief to see if any department policy was broken.

The report revealed that Bean said that before he and his wife left in March, he was in a rush and forgot to put his gun in a safe. Instead, it was in his bedroom closet, while his cruiser was parked in the driveway.

While Bean was out of town, there were reports of multiple shots fired in neighboring Bridgewater.

News 9 Investigates obtained the dispatch log, which said that a witness also saw a police presence with lights, sirens and noise from a loudspeaker, but the log showed there was no official police business in that area at that time.

After Bean returned, he was contacted by state police, who believed his cruiser and firearm were involved.

News 9 Investigates obtained a report on the investigation to see if the chief violated any policies. All information relating to the two people allegedly involved in the stolen cruiser and gun is redacted.

After speaking with state police, Bean looked through a car belonging to one of the unnamed people and found a phone with videos of the incident on it. He gave that to investigators.

The department policies surrounding firearms state that the member is responsible for making sure the firearm is secured and kept in their control at all times.

The investigator said the chief did not break any policy because he assumed his home was a secure location. The investigator recommended that Bean be more cautious of where he secures his firearm.

Bean said he will no longer bring his firearm home.

News 9 has been unable to connect with Bean to speak to him about the incident, and the town has offered no comment.

State police would not confirm or deny whether there is an ongoing investigation.

Residents of the neighborhood where the shots were fired said they were upset about the situation and were grateful no one was outside at the time and hurt.