Police: Drunk Mass. man drove into N.H. police parking lot because he felt unsafe, is charged with DWI
PLAISTOW, N.H. — A Massachusetts man was charged with drunken driving after he was spotted behind the wheel of a car with the engine running in the parking lot of a New Hampshire police station, police said.
Police said Scott Kulda, 30, of Burlington, Massachusetts, told officers that he drove from Northern New Hampshire before intentionally parking outside the Plaistow police station.
Kulda told police he was “trying to be safe and did not feel like he was able to drive,” according to Capt. Brett Morgan.
Morgan said a police dispatcher walking to his car at the end of a shift around 7 a.m. Sunday noticed Kulda and engaged him in brief conversation.
“They recognized the car as being out of place,” Morgan said. “It was suspected that (Kulda) was impaired and an on-duty patrol officer was notified.”
Because the vehicle was running and Kulda was in the driver’s seat, police arrested him and charged him with DWI. If the car were not running, the outcome would likely have been different, police said.
“He most likely would not have been charged, just placed in protective custody,” Morgan said.
Morgan has been with the department for the last 17 years. He believes this is the first time an intoxicated subject has found his way to police.
Kulda was released on $5,000 personal recognizance bail and will appear in Plaistow District Court on June 9.
Edelstein writes for the North Andover, Massachusetts Eagle-Tribune.