CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The arrest of a New Hampshire county sheriff accused of drunken driving was unlawful and therefore some evidence in the case is inadmissible, a judge ruled.
Police made no attempt to secure an arrest warrant for Merrimack County Sheriff Scott Hilliard, the judge ruled Thursday, and prosecutors failed to show that delaying the arrest would have put the public at risk.
A hospital blood draw taken after the arrest is now inadmissible, but Tilton police testified that a Breathalyzer test conducted prior to the arrest put Hilliard’s blood-alcohol content at three times the legal limit.
The off-duty sheriff smelled of alcohol, had glossy, blood-shot eyes, slurred speech and was swaying when police encountered him walking to his car outside a Tilton restaurant in August, police said. They were responding to a call about a driver swerving on the road.
Hilliard’s attorney argued police should have gotten an arrest warrant because they never saw Hilliard actually driving the vehicle.
Police testified that it was clear Hilliard had planned to start driving again before he was arrested and that it’s necessary to get a blood draw before too much time has passed.
Hilliard, who pleaded not guilty, is serving his seventh term as sheriff. After his arrest, Hilliard acknowledged a longstanding drinking problem and efforts to seek treatment, the Concord Monitor reported.
The bench trial is scheduled to continue Jan. 14.
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