(InDepthNH.org photo) Jacqueline Burnett, 35, of Hampton

By Nancy West

InDepthNH.org

PORTSMOUTH — State Police Sgt. Joseph Ronchi said it will take at least 60 days, and possibly longer, to provide public records about the February crash that led to the arrest of Jacqueline Burnett, the executive assistant to Police Chief Mark Newport.

Burnett, 35, a resident of Hampton, was initially charged with misdemeanor-level driving under the influence, but earlier this month the charge was reduced to reckless operation, a violation-level offense.

The crash occurred in the early morning hours of Feb. 25, when Burnett was driving along Peverly Hill Road. She apparently lost control of the vehicle, which went off the road and crashed into a utility pole, reportedly bringing down power lines.

Burnett’s license was recently suspended for 60 days, and she was fined $620. Restitution has yet to be determined.

InDepthNH.org asked for the records immediately following the crash but did not file a 91a request. State police, however, chose to file the request as a right-to-know request. Portsmouth police asked State Police to investigate because Burnett is a city employee.

Newport and Burnett didn’t respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Ronchi said Thursday that “I’m writing to acknowledge your request pursuant to RSA 91-A, dated March 14, 2023 and received on March 16, 2023, requesting access to public records – specifically a motor vehicle event from February 25, 2023.

“In light of the scope of your request and the workloads and availability of personnel participating in the processing of your request, I estimate that 60 days will be reasonably necessary to locate any responsive records. If, after 60 days I am unable to effectively locate said records, I will provide an additional estimate of the time reasonably necessary to determine the extent of available records in accordance with RSA 91-A and applicable case law.”

Ronchi is the assistant troop commander at Troop A.

There is still a lot of information unknown about the incident.

When Newport was asked via email the day after the crash if it involved someone in his department who had been at a police sanctioned fundraiser at the Rusty Hammer Pub Friday night before the crash, he said it wasn’t department sanctioned. It was a fundraiser for the Battle of the Badges.

“Unfortunately, I will not be available to speak with you until Monday,” he said that day. “I would be interested to hear more about your statement referring to your understanding of this event as being department sanctioned as this was a fundraiser to raise money for the ‘CHAD’ hockey game that two department members are participating in, not a fundraiser for our department,” Newport said in the email.

He didn’t respond to further questions.