CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A police sergeant in New Hampshire was arrested in connection with a 7-year-old vehicle pursuit in the town where he works and lives, the attorney general’s office said Wednesday.

Michael Verrocchi, 41, of Salem, was charged with felony reckless conduct with a deadly weapon and a misdemeanor count of disobeying an officer. He’s employed with Salem Police Department and is on administrative leave.

Verrocchi was accused of failing to stop for a police officer in a Jeep Cherokee on Route 28 in November 2012. Police said he fled and engaged in a pursuit over two miles during which he ran a red light and avoided spike strips. His vehicle constituted a “deadly weapon”under the law.


Verrocchi was a police officer at the time and he was off-duty, the attorney general’s office said.

He’s scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 30 in Rockingham County Superior Court.

Verrocchi has been part of an investigation by the attorney general’s office following the release of a police department audit last year. The audit recommended new written policies for the handling of citizen complaints and more closely monitoring hours officers worked.

It wasn’t immediately known if Verrocchi had a lawyer, and a number couldn’t be found for him.