Crime & Safety

Officer Slips on Ice Responding to Loud Party Complaint

Twenty-year-old cited for underage drinking at Holland Street house party.

A 20-year-old Newport man was cited for underage drinking and one city police officer was treated at Newport Hospital for a slip and fall on an icy driveway after Newport Police responded to a loud party complaint on Holland Street Jan. 30.

Police said they were dispatched to 42 Holland Street for a noise report and could hear loud music booming from the house. Once inside, officers smelled marijuana, saw drinking cups in the kitchen and on the floor and about 20 people gathered minus several females who ran from the back door once police were seen through the windows.

In the crowd was Matthew Traynor, 20, of 5 Ann St., Newport, who told police that they "had nothing on him" and then said he was 20. Despite not having any identification, officers said they knew who he was based on previous encounters with police and cited him for misdemeanor possession of alcohol after he was seen stumbling and acting intoxicated.

It took nearly four minutes of knocking on the front door before police were able to get the attention of the party goers inside, according to a police report.

Despite the loud music, police did not issues a summons for violations of the city's noise ordinance because someone looked through a window, saw the police, and the music was shut off before a noise meter was brought to the scene. And nobody else under 20 was seen drinking or appeared intoxicated and police did not find any marijuana in the house, police said.

A responding officer reported that while walking to his cruiser to get his summons book, he slipped on the icy driveway and landed on his lower back and supporting arms. He was treated for the injuries later.


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