July 4 in Hampton: 46 arrests, police cruisers crash, lifeguards save 18

HAMPTON — Police and state parks reported a busy Fourth of July weekend consisting of 46 arrests, 18 ocean rescues and 18 vehicle crashes, including one involving two police cruisers.

The accident between a Hampton police cruiser and state police cruiser occurred at 12:37 a.m., July 5, on Route 101 at the intersection with Landing Road.

Hampton Police Chief Alex Reno said because the collision involved a Hampton officer, state police are conducting the investigation.

According to state police, Trooper Clark Brighton of New Hampshire State Police Troop A attempted to pursue a vehicle that was traveling east without headlights on Route 101. His Dodge Charger crossed the intersection with Landing Road as a Hampton Police Department Ford Explorer, driven by officer Timothy Vaughan, entered the intersection.

“The preliminary investigation indicates Trooper Brighton entered the intersection on a green light,” according to the state police, “when Officer Vaughan, who had been manually operating the traffic light following July 4 celebrations at Hampton Beach, simultaneously entered the intersection on a red light while attempting to reset the traffic light sequence.”

Both officers were evaluated by emergency personnel and found to sustain minor injuries, according to police, while Route 101 was temporarily closed to traffic. Reno said the Hampton cruiser was "totaled." All aspects of the crash remain under investigation.

The crash is in the same area where a multi-vehicle crash occurred Thursday, July 4. The accident closed the roadways for a short time, Reno said, as five ambulances responded to transport those involved to area hospitals. Reno said no one was seriously injured.

With great weather and firework displays on Wednesday and Thursday nights, Reno said “Hampton Beach was packed.” He estimated at points in time on the holiday that about 130,000 people were at Hampton Beach, and police officers spent a lot of time addressing resulting traffic issues.

Reno said traffic on the Fourth of July was "bumper to bumper" starting at 8 a.m. He said traffic was restored after the fireworks by about 12:15 to 12:30 a.m.

“It was very busy,” Reno said. “But it wasn’t crazy.”

Hampton police dealt with 560 calls for service from July 3 through the early hours of July 8, 150 alone on July 4. That total is almost 100 more than last year.

Of those calls, 46 resulted in arrests, including three DWIs and three felonies out of the 69 offenses charged. They also made 180 traffic stops, resulting in 141 warnings and 39 summonses issued.

On the Fourth of July alone, Reno said there were 22 arrests, 1 DWI, 8 crashes and 37 motor vehicle stops, resulting in 10 summonses and 27 warnings.

"For the most part, everybody was well-behaved," Reno said. "We had some folks who chose not to behave, and we dealt with that."

Greg Keeler, spokesperson for the New Hampshire State Parks, said lifeguards made 18 ocean rescues and reunited 31 lost adults and children with families. They also removed 71 dogs from the beach and dealt with 1,331 alcohol violations at all of the Seacoast state beaches, 95 percent of which were at Hampton Beach.

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Police: Man rescued from ocean ends up in handcuffs

Reno said one rescue occurred at about 7 p.m. on the Fourth of July and ended in an arrest.

Dispatch, he said, received several 911 calls from people reporting what appeared to be a highly intoxicated person far out in the ocean, splashing around and in distress. Officers with Marine Patro tried unsuccessfully to get him in their boat.

“The man was under the influence of some substance and went in the water wearing shorts and a belt,” Reno said. “And he proceeded to take off his belt and whip the Marine Patrol officers trying to rescue him.”

A band of lifeguards went out together on paddle boards and were also whipped by the individual, Reno said. When they finally got him on a paddle board, Reno said, he kept flailing about and fell off several times. As they got the man into knee-high water, Reno said, he continued to act up and wouldn’t come out of the water. That’s when the police got involved.

“Police officers were able to subdue him, got handcuffs on him, out of the water and we arrested him,” Reno said.

The suspect, a 30-year-old Manchester resident, is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 13 on charges of criminal threatening, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to Reno.

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Hampton police thank partners for help during Fourth of July

Reno said Hampton police is significantly short of its customary contingency of part-time officers who augment the full-time force each summer, but preplanning and cooperation with other agencies maintained safety.

Reno said his department hired officers from Epping, Newton, Kensington and Newfields to patrol over the long holiday weekend. Also present providing coverage were troopers from state police units, including Troop A, deputies from the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, the Seacoast Emergency Response Team and the National Guard Civil Support Team.

“We work together to address issues before they become bigger problems,” Reno said.

Hampton Beach State Park employees are another asset, Reno said, specifically, the lifeguards. That’s especially true when it comes to keeping alcohol off the beach to maintain safety and prevent fights that drunkenness can cause.

According to Reno, lifeguards are first to spot alcohol drinking on the beach, which isn’t allowed on state beaches. When they do, they approach and tell offenders they have to leave. If after two warnings they refuse to leave, police are called and offenders are removed and sometimes arrested, he said.

“The lifeguards are a real patrol asset for us when covering Hampton Beach,” Reno said. “They bring a force multiplier by dealing first with alcohol violations. And they do it well.”

Seabrook, North Hampton police report busy but uneventful Fourth of July

In Seabrook, the statistics appear to be those of a busy summer weekend at the beach without major upheaval.

According to Seabrook police Lt. Jason Allen, there was one warrant served, one disorderly conduct, one person taken into protective custody, three arrests and 16 stops for speeding. There were also five accidents, Allen said, but none required transport to hospitals.

North Hampton Deputy Chief Thomas R. Scotti said the community was busy and enjoyed the Fourth peacefully, without major problems marring the holiday.

There was an incident at the Kia dealership on Route 1 at about 9 a.m. on Saturday, Scotti said, which turned out to be the oil from a compressor leak heating up and smoking badly. But, he said, there was no fire in the structure, although the incident did shut down a part of Route 1 for a short time.

North Hampton Police recorded one DWI arrest, 11 vehicle stops, two motor vehicle accidents, one report of vandalism, and one for theft.

“We were patrolling the beach area, but we didn’t have any major problems,” Scotti said. “It was busy, but everyone played well together in the sandbox.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: July 4 in Hampton: 46 arrests, police cars crash, lifeguards save 18