Sunapee police log shows traffic stops, alarms, medical assist calls

Traffic enforcement took the biggest share of Sunapee police attention in the week ending May 6, with stops logged on Route 103, Edgemont Road, North Road, Bradford Road and Route 11, many ending in warnings for defective equipment or speed.

The log, covering April 30 through May 6 and published May 8, reads like a snapshot of routine public safety work in a small town. One stop noted that no violations were observed. Others ended with warnings, a reminder that a steady patrol presence on Sunapee’s roads is doing as much quiet work as any headline-grabbing call.

Not every response involved a moving vehicle. Officers checked an alarm on Longview Road and found the house secure with no signs of forced entry, suggesting a false activation rather than a burglary. A fire alarm on Skijor Steppe Upper also turned out to be burnt food. Both calls demanded a response, even though neither developed into a serious emergency.

The week also included a found-articles call at 9 Sargent Road, where officers packaged a needle in a puncture-proof container before disposing of it. That kind of call is easy to overlook in a weekly log, but it shows how local police are often handling small hazards with direct public health implications. On Edgemont Road, officers also stood by during a medical assist while a patient was transported to NLH.

The broader reporting pattern matches what the department has already said about its workload. In the 2025 second-quarter Sunapee S.A.F.E. report, total activity reached 2,046 calls, with 565 motor-vehicle stops. Motor-vehicle stops made up 28 percent of total activity, directed-enforcement patrols accounted for 24 percent and complaint calls made up 12 percent. Route 11 was listed as a prominent accident location, and Edgemont Road, also known as Route 103B, appeared among the streets generating stops.

That traffic-heavy profile comes as Chief E. Neill Cobb has said calls for service have risen significantly over the past two decades while the number of full-time officers has stayed the same. Cobb said the town’s approval of an additional full-time officer would help cover court appearances, training and extended investigations. The department’s public staffing page lists Cobb, Lieutenant and Prosecutor Timothy Puchtler, Sergeant Nicholas Boisvert and several other officers and staff, while its archives show weekly logs, arrests, quarterly Sunapee S.A.F.E. reports and annual activity reports as part of an ongoing public record.

The same week also brought a traffic alert for Project Sunapee’s Green-Up Day on May 2, another sign that much of Sunapee police work is tied to the roads, the calendar and the town’s day-to-day movements.