BARTLETT — The Bartlett police chief has refuted allegations made by a Conway man who was tased and pepper-sprayed during a traffic stop near Story Land last weekend.
Christopher Spinney, 35, of Conway claims police used excessive force and put him and his family at risk of COVID-19. He also said he’d heard that the arresting officer had been fired by the Carroll Police Department for use of force.
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(5) comments
Heyt Sharon N....he didn't have legal license to drive. This guy is obviously 'out there'. What do you expect of the police. I guess you figure people who drive without license are 'disadvanteged'? You Sharon are ill.
He obviously knew how to drive and was on his way to his job. Licensing laws are just another tool used to beat down disadvantaged communities. Your (white) privilege is showing!
Ah, the Valley. The Police State of Live Free or Die. I was pulled over for an obscure tail light out- when I asked to see which one, amazingly, the tail light was back on! I always am polite and comply, but there are way to many police officers and departments in the Valley, then we have the Sheriff Dept and State Police! Rt 16 into Conway Village is covered in law enforcement vehicles. Towns like Tamworth are way over policed, also Bartlett and Jackson. Next to no crime, and what there is other agencies can cover. While I don't agree with refusing the identify- it is clearly the law when driving a motor vehicle- I do believe these kinds of traffic stops are way over done around here, and would be all for funding social services and de-funding police in all the small towns here. The small town police are under-trained, are stupid and prone to favoritism, and are bullies, who often fail to follow or know the laws. They can even work for up to a year with zero formal training! And then, the Chief will always cover for "their guys" and never admit they made a mistake, as seen here where de-escalation could have gone a long way. Time to centralize policing just like we have a regional high school. Make a whole lot of sense. Also, there is zero regulation of small town police, no accountability. It's a problem. Conway Police Dept. has far more checks and balances, while the small towns do not.
This is one example of why police need to be defunded and abolished. Being tased and pepper sprayed is bad enough, but if he had been a person of color the outcome could have been far worse. Police have been terrorizing both ordinary citizens and disadvantaged communities in NH and elsewhere for far too long. Motor vehicle inspection laws are just one tool they use to harass people, and these need to be abolished as well.
have to side with the police on this one.
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