News

Misleading NH state police log corrected, clarified

By BILL CHAISSON
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — The weekly New Hampshire State Police log from Dec. 22 included an entry for Michael Sartwell. The site of the incident was listed as Town House Road in Cornish and charges were related to an alleged domestic violence incident. The Eagle Times interpreted the information provided to mean that police went to the site and arrested Sartwell. That is not what happened. According to Carolyn Cole, an attorney with Cole Associates Civil Law PLLC in Lebanon, who is representing Sartwell, he was exonerated on Dec. 18. 

Last month Sartwell’s estranged wife filed a domestic violence petition, a civil complaint, for incidents alleged to have occurred on Nov. 29 and Dec. 9. These included a wellness check on his wife that Sartwell asked the police to make after, according to Cole, she had given him cause to worry about her. At the Dec. 18 court appearance the judge did not find any of Sartwell’s wife’s charges of abuse to be credible and dismissed the matter.

Cole, in a Jan. 4 call to the Eagle Times, said Sartwell’s estranged was “not happy with the outcome” on Dec. 18 and went to both the Lebanon and Claremont police stations on Dec. 22 to file criminal charges. The Claremont police duly asked Sartwell to come to the station and charged him. Cole questions whether charges that were dismissed in a civil action where the burden of proof is lower can be applied again in a criminal action.

In sum, the police never responded to Town House Road to answer a domestic violence complaint, as was implied by the police log. Furthermore, Sartwell was not present at Town House Road and as of Dec. 22 the date in the log, had already been fully exonerated of the charges listed.

Cole predicted their next court appearance would be brief.

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