MANCHESTER, NH – A man spotted by police on patrol, walking down the middle of Lincoln Street Tuesday morning, ended up in custody after refusing to tell police his name and then lying down in the middle of the road.
According to a police narrative of the arrest, Officers Richard Valenti Jr. and Robert Bifsha were on patrol in a marked police cruiser at 4:45 a.m. Nov. 24 when they saw a man walking southerly in the middle of Lincoln Street, north of Harvard Street. The man waved his hands toward the officers as they drove north on Lincoln Street.
Police stopped and approached the man, who was eventually identified as Merton Kerr, 36, of Manchester. Kerr allegedly refused to answer the officer’s questions. Kerr decided to lay down in the middle of Lincoln Street as the officers spoke with him. The officers advised Kerr that they were going to place him into custody for a violation offense (pedestrian in a roadway) due to the fact they could not confirm his identity. They stood him up and attempted to take him into custody.
However, Kerr initially refused to comply with the arrest while clutching his hands and placing them close to his chest instead of placing them behind his back. Kerr was quickly placed him into custody and transported to police headquarters. He was properly identified during the booking process and formally charged with resisting arrest/detention.
Kerr was released on $1,000 personal recognizance bail and is scheduled to appear in the 9th Circuit Court-Manchester on December 31, 2015.
