Newport Police Chief Lied About Affair, Kept Off State Misconduct List

Newport Police Chief Alex Lee lied about an on-duty sexual relationship with a subordinate during an internal investigation, yet remains off New Hampshire's Exculpatory Evidence Schedule, the state roster used to flag officers with credibility problems. The subordinate, former officer Casey Truesdell, told the truth and paid for it: she ended up on that same list, her career effectively over.

The case stretches across two Sullivan County communities. According to records, two Claremont police officers were also involved in an internal probe over an on-duty affair. Truesdell's accusations against Lee, described in reporting as detailing "disturbing behavior," were seemingly ignored by the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, Newport town officials, and an outside agency hired by Claremont to investigate.

When Truesdell came forward, she was cast, in the words of contemporaneous reporting, as "the scorned woman seeking revenge." The characterization followed her even as an internal investigation, formalized in what became known as the Mello Report, concluded that Lee had been untruthful about his on-duty sexual relations with her.

The Claremont Police Commission voted to sustain the Mello Report's findings and reported Lee to the Attorney General's Office. Lee responded by suing the commission, alleging, among other complaints, that reporting him to the Attorney General amounted to defamation. That lawsuit was resolved in February 2025 at Sullivan County Superior Court, where Judge James Kennedy sided with the commission. "To be clear, and at the very least, the Commission had a basis to sustain the Mello Report findings that Plaintiff was untruthful relative to his on-duty sexual relations with [Truesdell]," Kennedy wrote.

Despite that ruling, Lee's placement on the Exculpatory Evidence Schedule, also known as the Laurie List, remains unresolved in a notable way. Commissioner John Hunt confirmed that an EES notification for Lee was sent to the Attorney General's Office and that the AG's office acknowledged receiving it. Yet Lee continues to serve as Newport's police chief without appearing on the list, while Truesdell, who came forward voluntarily, remains on it.

The EES exists precisely to inform prosecutors of credibility concerns before officers testify in criminal cases. A chief who lied in an internal investigation but appears nowhere on that list raises direct questions about how the state administers its own accountability mechanism. What happened to Lee's EES notification after the Attorney General confirmed receipt has not been publicly explained.