State officials have indicted an off-duty Salem police officer for one count of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon for leading them on a high-speed chase in 2012.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said officers signaled to Sergeant Michael D. Verrocchi to stop speeding. But, instead, Verrocchi kept going over the speed limit for about two miles.
NHPR reported that this incident was among those exposed in a 2018 audit of the Salem Police Department. The Attorney General's Office began investigating the incident last year.
Court records show that when an officer stopped Verrocchi, he started “laughing” and said the incident was a “joke.”Officials say he “recklessly engaged in conduct” that put the public in “danger of serious bodily injury.”
The officer’s colleague, Captain Jason Smith of the Salem Police Department, says Verrocchi still has a job while the case is under investigation.
“He is still employed with the police department, but he is on administrative leave,” Smith said. “So he doesn’t...he’s not actually working right now until this matter is resolved.”
Verrocchi's case is scheduled to be heard in Rockingham County Superior Court next month.
