A police officer tried to stop a man for a basic traffic violation — and found several bags of marijuana and crack cocaine.
Here’s what happened, according to police spokesman Officer David Hartman:
On Saturday just after 8 p.m., Officer Matthew Collier noticed a car going down Cedar Street that did not yield at the Putnam Street stop sign, so he activated his lights and siren to pull the driver over. But the driver sped away and the officer stayed behind him.
The driver hit a parked car at Spring Street and got out and started running. Officer Collier ran after him and chased him down the middle of Union Avenue toward the main police station. The officer grabbed the man’s arm and stopped him. He asked the man why he had run and the man responded that he didn’t have a license.
An investigation found that the man did have a license that was suspended. He also was carrying ten bags of marijuana, three bags of crack cocaine, two cell phones and a pocket of cash. He also had an outstanding warrant.
Police arrested the man and charged him with the commission of two narcotics crimes, two controlled substance crimes, interfering with police, engaging an officer in pursuit, disobeying a stop sign and operating with a suspended license.
The next night, in a separate incident, officers responded to a reported stabbing around Quinnipiac Avenue and Quinnipiac Court. They found a 28-year-old man who had suffered several stab wounds to his face and left forearm.
Officers said he was “generally uncooperative” but reported he picked up a man he didn’t know after leaving a party. They got lost in North Haven and ended up at Quinnipiac Avenue, where the man said the passenger started stabbing him multiple times with a knife. The man was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital and was treated for his wounds, which were not life-threatening.
The man refused to describe his attacker and the car was towed for forensic processing.
Just imagine if the NHPD would ACTUALLY enforce the traffic laws in this town. Who knows what drugs, guns, and other stuff they might find if they pulled over half the people who blow red lights and speed through downtown.