Gun Shop Owner Apologizes to Concord Police for Outburst at Rally

A local gun shop owner has written a letter of apology to the chief of police in Concord for his behavior at the recent Mayors Against Illegal Guns rally at the Statehouse earlier this week.

Ralph Demicco, the owner of the Riley's Sports Shop in Hooksett, wrote the letter the day after the June 18 rally, after being caught on video yelling at least one police officer during the arrest of Daniel Musso of Brentwood.

Officers were called to the rally after two demonstrators complained about an older man with a mustache in a hat on the southern side of the plaza who was allegedly swearing at an elderly woman and had ripped up her “No More Names" sign.

Before the police arrived to deal with the ripped sign complaint, on the north side of the plaza, Musso made his way up to the podium while John Cantin of Manchester, a gun violence victim, was talking about his efforts to convince U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, to vote for a bill that he believed would improve background checks. After some back and forth between Musso and Cantin, Musso went back into the crowd with other pro-gun ownership counter-protesters.

The older man in the hat with the mustache had left the scene by the time police arrived although activists had taken a picture of him before he left the rally.

However, private security hired by the anti-gun violence organization led police to Musso who later was seen touching an officer, was Tased, and taken down by officers.

During the take-down, other officers were trying to clear people away from the three arresting officers who had Musso pinned on the ground. Demicco is seen in the video pacing around the arresting officers. At one point, he kicked the keys of one of the officers across the concrete sidewalk. Later, when an officer attempted to get Demicco to move back, he began yelling and swearing at the officer.

After seeing him in the video and recognizing him as the owner of Riley’s, Concord Police Chief John Duval contacted him. Demicco, the same day as the call, penned an apology letter to the officers, directed to Duval.

In his letter, Demicco admitted kicking the keys but added, “I had no way of knowing whose they were.” He said he was at the rally "to observe the event as I have an interest in such things." Demicco later said he was “somewhat confused as to what was transpiring” due to having limited experience to such situations.

“I regret having done that as well as being anywhere near what was happening,” Demicco wrote. “My actions were inappropriate and I have deep regrets. I have a respect for law enforcement and those who put their safety at risk for the public good.”

Demicco asked Duval to apologize to the officers and closed by saying, “Rest assured this incident will not be repeated.”

Riley's is considered to be one of the largest gun shops in the Granite State. The shop is frequented by law enforcement officers and has a specialized law enforcement website. 

The Mayors Against Illegal Guns rally made national headlines this week after the arrest of Musso and the revelation that the name of one of the Boston Marathon Bombing terrorists was read at the rallies and identified as gun violence victims.