Colleen Loud, 68, was sitting in her living room, eating a bowl of ice cream and waiting for a baseball game to start, when two police officers appeared at her door while investigating a crash that occurred nearby. Officer Matt McCue and Sgt. Asa Johnson said they could smell alcohol on Loud’s breath, at which time she explained that she had stopped by a local bar for a couple of beers after work. Johnson administered a breathalyzer test, which showed that Loud’s alcohol content was slightly over the legal limit. That’s when they took her into custody. Loud said the officers had given her two choices: call someone to come and take care of her or go to the “drunk tank” overnight. “I wasn’t falling down drunk,” said Loud, “I was doing nothing but literally waiting for a baseball game to start on TV.” The next thing she knew, she was in handcuffs and being transported to the Rockingham County Jail. Since the incident, Officer McCue has been slated for additional training, Sgt. Johnson has left the police force, Police Chief Kathryn Mone has retired, and Loud has hired an attorney to sue the City of North Hampton. Select Board Chairman James Sununu said the investigation into Loud’s arrested raised serious concerns about police department operations.
