YOUR COMMENTS

ML.
Tell the bad guys to stop running and we won't have to chase them. Maybe you should try the job first, instead of second guessing the actions of the people who keep you safe at night.
- Spike, Raymond

This is simple! Bad guy took his chances and lost! These Officers like every other Officer in this country have to make split second decisions and the rest of us have days to pick them apart. These Officers put their own lives on the line whether they were the ones pursuing the suspect or sitting at 111A at the ready with the spike strips, or waiting up ahead to assume the pursuit as it continued! Do not let the poor judgement of a Police Chief who is quick to put mislabled blame on the Rockingham County Sheriff's Department Communications Division steer you away from the truth. The truth that these many Officers did a great job! Cpl. Peltier and Officer Mercurio of the KPD, Sgt. Larochelle of the FPD, Officer Wells of the BPD, Officer Soares and newly promoted Sgt. Nye of the EPD (congrats Greg) along with the NH State Police Troopers that assisted! Gentlmen, Good work!
- Mr. G, Brentwood

I am an attorney who handles criminal cases. I try to keep the police and judges honest; not an easy job. If the police are in the wrong I will not hesitate to say so. In my opinion none of the police involved can be faulted for their actions.

Things happen a lot faster than most people think. And no, 100 mph was not unreasonable for the police in this situation. Radio communicatio in situations like this are not as clear as they appear on TV or in the movies.

There is a good reason for different frequencies for different jurisdictions. Otherwise there is so much going on that an officer trying to do his/her job cannot sort it all out.

Someone suggested that the police let Mr. Cruz go and then just arrest him later at his home. First, there goes the drunk driving case. Second, the police officer who made the stop had no reason to believe the Mr. Cruz had given his right name; and of course did not have an address for him. Third, can you imagine the lawsuit if the police had let Mr. Cruz continue on his way (drunk) and he had hit another car and killed all the occupants?
- Michael Walsh, Lansing, Mich

There is no question Chief Briggs is a flirt and he loves talking to the press, but he does care about the residents of Kingston.

Even though this story is hilarious - let's face it - Mr. Schreiber couldn't pass up the opportunity to make us all laugh.
- MS, Kingston, NH

Maybe they should all get Nextels. Then they could talk to eachother.
- SRT, Manchester

Some of you are missing the point. 1st, hitting the spike strips is not dangerous, they are designed specifically to slowly deflate the tires. It's not a high-speed blowout where someone could crash and flip over. 2nd, somebody IS to blame for the communications issue, but I'm not going to be the one to name names. 3rd, and perhaps most importantly, those of you who think 100 mph is too fast for a pursuit, regardless of circumstances, do not understand. At 1:23 am on Rte 125 it is not especially dangerous, as opposed to 7:30 am through a school zone. Officers know when they must break off a pursuit, and do so when it becomes necessary. And this may have been broken off sooner had he not tried to kill a Kingston officer by extinguishing his headlight and driving directly at him in an attempt to either hit him head on or just run him off the road. That took it up a notch or two, because now he is not just trying to escape a violation and a couple misdemeanor charges, he is actively committing felonies in officers presence.
- Dan, Epping

Communication issue? How can this be? Interoperability is the solve all!!
- LEO, Keene

LMAO The circus is in town!!! They have got to raise the educational requirements..from a GED to at least a high school diploma!!!Kingston PD you all are a disgrace to the human kind!!Now because of all your stupidity the taxs payer just bought new tires!! It should come out of their pay!!!
- Alan Counter, Manchchester, NH

Reno 911
- Bill, Manchester, NH

Here we go again.
There is no need for the blatant accusations and slander that the almighty Chief Don Briggs must continually put upon the Rockingham County Dispatch Center "communication issue" or any other dispatch center for that matter. (didn't have "good radio communication" with Plaistow police.")
What happened to requesting the log and radio transmissions? Has anyone listened or read the log?
Jason Schreiber perhaps it might be time for you to consider contacting the Rockingham County Communications Division for an interview. Thorough reporters always research before publishing or reporting to uphold their creditability and professionalism. Did you know that the Rockingham County Dispatch Center dispatchers for 23 towns and 16 Fire & Rescue Departments?

There is obvious radio interoperability throughout the country. This is a known fact to all in law enforcement and fire & rescue departments. Not just Kingston New Hampshire.
- Suzanne Bushwacker-Smith, Exeter, Nh

Well Well Well we see Chief Briggs is in the paper AGAIN. He really should focus more on what's going on with his town's people instead of speaking/flirting with the reporters. Communication had nothing to do with the lack of depth perception the officers obviously had when they hit the spike strips. How about keeping your distance? On another note, Since when is it safe anyway to pursue a vehicle down a non divided highway at over 100 mph. Love tio see the lawsuit on that one when the cruiser hits the poor guy changing his flat tire. When is Chief Briggs going to tame his out of control cowboys and actually hold THEM accountable for THEIR actions? When is he actually going to say...."Hey we made a mistake, sorry we'll try harder next time.". This is why no other surrounding police departments really take that town seriously. Too bad...could be a really nice, respectful productive police department. If only they would police themselves once in a while.
- Renaldo, Londonderry Nh

Both Fremont and Kingston are dispatched by Rockingham County Sherrif's Office on separate frequencies. All the Fremont officer had to do was turn his radio dial one click to communicate with Kingston / Rockingham County SO. Unfortunately, when you have multiple things going on communication can get difficult, especially when time is of the essence. I am not casting blame. But to say that it would have been difficult for Fremont PD to warn Kingston PD of the spike strips directly or through Rock County SO is not being entirely truthful. Especially since he was stationary, on the side of the road, setting up spike strips.
- Andrew S. Sawyer, Epping

When is the UL going to STOP listening to Chief Briggs? He is frequently hot to be the first in the paper with half the facts! Why doesnt the UL do any "investigative" reporting and getting the story correcct the first time?
- Mike Swartz, Epping NH

Interesting. How many pursuits ending in serious motor vehicle accidents and damaged or totaled cruisers has the KPD been involved in under Briggs' leadership? And why is the small town of Kingston's media hungry police chief regularly a feature of the UL or WMUR TV? Maybe those questions are worthy of further media scrutiny. On second thoughts, no. He spends too much time on the front page as it is!
- Gregory Hines, Fremont

This reminds me of the good old day drinking at the Fire Tower and playing hide-n-seek with the KPD.

Ok - seriously the Dukes of Hazzard theme song did run through my head too, but give the cops a break.
I know these cops and they are good people.
- MS, Kingston, NH

To Fred Milford, NH

Freddy, I did read it right I still don't want cops driving around at speed over 100 mph unless it is at New Hampshire Motor Speedway!!!

They have policies in place to call off a chase when speeds reach a certain point I would like to know what that is or if it was followed.
- ML, Pelham

Ben, Pembroke:
How can you actually blame the police for doing their job? Why the pursuit, you ask? Hmmm- because the guy was running from police. Common sense dictates that people with nothing to hide generally don't give false names and then take off from a traffic stop. And if he was wanted for something else, and he knew they police had his plate number, do you actually think he would go to the address listed on the registration for the car? You'd be singing a much different tune if they decided it wasn't worth their time or energy to pursue him and it turned out he was wanted for a violent crime. Give me a break. The police face difficult and dangerous situations every single day, and put up with this garbage from people like you. If you are so sure you can do it better, prove it.
- Becky, formerly of Manchester

Story is baloney...these small towns are located very close to each other and these officers know each other and provide backup to each other on a continual daily basis. They know how to communicate. Somebody screwed up and won't owe up to it.
- former fremont resident, manchester

Maybe if the UL requested a copy of the tapes from the dispatch center they would hear the facts in the case. Maybe Chief Briggs should do the same thing instead of blaming dispatch. Maybe there was no "communications issue" at all. Maybe Chief Briggs should just admit he was simply wrong in this matter and apologize. I am sure that won't happen. It should be noted that the agencys involved Kingston and Brentwood are on the same channel, that is not an issue.
- STEVE, NOTTINGHAM

Why were they pursuing? They had the plate... and could have easily been waiting for this joker at his residence with a warrant for his arrest. Now the town is down 2 cruisers and a spike strip.
- Ben, Pembroke

The upside of having the economy in the tank is that you get better pool of candidates for police officers.
- Mike, Allenstown

Hey Rich Northfield, Take it easy Man. All Cops are not super hero's and things like this really have a way of flushing out the "also Rans". This was a classic case of these guys being totally unprepared for the situation. Rich, you know what they call the last person in the graduating class at the police academy? Answer- Officer
- Freddy, Atkinson

You guys can add Top Gear to that list, that is something Jeremy Clarkson would do.
- Mary, Raymond

ML Pelham... If you read the story correctly you would have noticed that the driver gave false information to the police, which is disobeying a police officer. Also, the officer could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside the vehicle, which would raise his suspicion that the driver may have been impaired. At the time of the stop the officer can't know why the guy gave false info. Maybe his license is suspended. Or maybe he's wanted for murder in Mass. The possibilities are almost endless. Why are people so quick to judge the police?! I say great effort by all officers involved.
- Fred, Milford

Harry Atkinson. You left out Andy Griffith Show. Remember the Episode where Andy went out of town and left Barney, Who Deputized Gobber, or was it Gomer to run the town. God what a great show. Mybe TV will do a remake based on the Kingston PD.
- freddy, Atkinson

I love it.
- C Lemay, Manchester, NH

Another fine, upstanding citizen from Lawrence Mass.
- doug, new Boston

Love the critics who Monday morning quarterback police actions in the commentary.

Do you really think officers like to chase people, duck punches from drunks, get degraded and demoralized in the paper for your entertainment?

People run from police for any number of reasons, but as you avid readers know NH has not had any serious assaults, home invasions or murders recently, so if someone takes off on the police no worries it is all just pure fun.

How easy it is for those who do not stand for something to make light of those who do.

Instead of spreading discontent spend your time teaching your children to respect themselves and others.
- Rich, Norhtfield

I caught what I believe is a typo, please see below, "traveling 99 mph with no headlines on????

(Meanwhile, Mercurio, the Kingston officer, headed south on Route 125 and found Cruz traveling at 99 mph with no headlines on in the area of the Pond View Restaurant, police said.)

I read this story twice, and several things ran through my mind.

1) Communication Breakdown by Led Zepplin

2) Dukes of Hazard

3) Smokey and the Bandit

4) For those old enough to remember - The Keystone Cops!
- Harry, Atkinson

When are these cops going to learn someone is going to get hurt when the speeds reach over 100 mph I thought towns have policies in places to not do this. The 2 cops could have gotten hurt driving over the stop sticks or the cops that were on the ropes. And for what a guy that was speeding? Is it really worth putting all these people in danger for someone that was going over the speed limit? And then to top it off they go chasing him at 110 mph?
- ML, Pelham

The car being chased wasn't a bright orange Charger with a rebel flag on the roof, was it?
- David Goss, Manchester

Plaistow and State Police each have their own frequency. The others all use Rock County. There simply needs to be a protocol that dictates which frequency (county or tac 2) they should use with a multi-jurisdictional incident like this. I'm glad no one was injured by this maniac.
- Jason, Portsmouth

It's frustrating to see the comments from the simpletons already. What happened here with the communication breakdown is entirely plausible. It's easy to understand that in the middle of a high-speed chase an Officer wouldn't be able to look at his radio to see what channel it's on. If it were me driving that cruiser at 100+ MPH, I certainly wouldn't dare take my eyes off the road to check the radio channel.

That being said, the (often) inability for Police agencies to communicate on each others' frequencies would be a good story for the Union Leader to write about.

Part of the problem is lack of money but I'm sure a significant part of it is lack of cooperation. For example, I've heard that the Hillsborough Sheriff's Dept was denied access to Nashua's Police frequency. In this post-9/11 era, I simply cannot understand why this is still occurring.
- Joe V., Nashua

Is it possible that the driver, Mr. Cruz, "of Lawrence, Mass.," is not of Lawrence, Mass., even if he sleeps there? Is it surprising that, when the country's response to ignoring our borders is social work and free services, that the same people ignore our policemen with impunity?

Next year we're going to see another push for "comprehensive immigration reform that rejects amnesty," that is, amnesty, and Judd Gregg will vote for it unless we give him some heat.
- Spike, Brentwood NH

No wonder, he didn't have his "headlines" on...
- bP, Manchester, NH

Michael, I highly doubt Mr. Cruz from Lawrence Mass can scrape together five grand for bail.
- Sam, Portsmouth

I bet Kingston PD hope's this guy jumps bail...They'll need the $5,000 for repairs on the cruiser's.....lol

This story just made my day!!
- Chuck, ManchVegas

Sounds like Roscoe P. Coltrane and Enos Straight foiled again by the Duke Boys!
- RJ, Concord

Getting towns to talk on the same freqs sounds easy. But getting both towns to be using the same communications equipment is a lot of $. If the town budget doesn’t give money for that new comm gear then the two dispatch centers will have to communicate with each other on the phone and relay to the officers over the radio. Some dispatchers may not be exactly familiar with the streets and locations in other towns also. But it would be amazing if all towns could just flip a switch and speak with all other towns... But that interoperability doesn’t come so easy sometimes sadly.
- Chris, Goffstown

Actually, that should read $50,000 cash bail. $5000 is a typo.
And the PDs are split up on different frequencies because there are so many towns and only one dispatch center. So either the cops need to change frequencies on their own, or dispatch has to be a go-between. These things happen very fast, and stuff happens. Maybe somebody dropped the ball, hard to say whose fault.
Would you like to wait your turn among ten or fifteen other towns (PDs) trying to talk at once? Poor system, but it used to be worse when all the towns were on one channel.
- Dan, Epping

Brilliant, can't the police change frequency to talk directly to the neighboring towns? $5,000?...Ridiculous!
- Bill, Danville

Thats it, $5,000 bail? What the heck kind of message does that send? Obviously the judge doesn't put citizens or cops life at a high price. Thankfully no one was hurt but the intent was definately there. If this guy gets out on bail and commit another crime, put the judge in jail for a couple of weeks. Maybe next time he'll think more about that bail.
- Michaael King, Epping