Concord Detective, Accused Of Assault, To Be Released On Bail

CONCORD, NH — A Concord detective, who is felony facing second-degree assault, witness tampering, and falsifying evidence charges, is expected to be released from jail on Wednesday.

Bryan Croft has been held on preventative detention in the Rockingham County Jail since Friday after being arrested on the charges — accused of strangling and assaulting a woman who is also a Concord police officer after an incident in October 2020. He was arrested on the charges after a multi-month investigation that began with a tip to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families about a possible domestic incident that was witnessed by a child. Originally, the victim denied the allegations and refused to cooperate with the investigation by New Hampshire State Police and the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office. But later, she acquiesced, after investigators continued to work the case and gathered more evidence — including other witnesses and a baby monitor possibly recording the incident.

In a court filing and during a remote bail hearing in Hillsborough County Superior Court North on Tuesday, James Moir, Croft's attorney, said his client was not a flight risk and the two would not be in contact with each other. Croft, he said, would agree to restraining orders to stay away from the victim's home while living in Boscawen with his mother, he said.

Moir said Trish Thompson, the director of Belknap County Pretrial Services, had agreed to "accept supervision" of Croft upon his release.

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Moir also countered statements made by prosecutors in the case that Croft was a danger to the victim and the public due to him being accused of surveilling her while she was meeting with attorney general's office investigators about the allegations. Concord police happened to see Croft outside of or nearby by the victim's attorney's office after dropping off a child in school. Moir said the area was "highly trafficked" and not a case of stalking.

"This is simply incorrect," Moir noted.

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Moir said Croft was communicating with the woman by text message, informing her that he was filing ex parte in court. He also said she "didn't need to call the PD" and they needed to work things out "like adults."

Moir added, "The state pointed to this as a very nefarious activity on the part of Mr. Croft and that is simply not the case."

Moir also provided other text messages between Croft and a friend, while discussing a vehicle, who told him the victim was no longer in the area — something Croft appeared to not know. The exchange, which took place on Jan. 20, appeared to show that Croft would be avoiding the victim.

Moir also apologized to the court for being unable to provide all the logistical information backing up his position due to computer power and other issues.

However, Timothy Sullivan, a prosecutor for the state, said they were objecting to the motion due to "clear and convincing evidence" Croft was a danger to the public and himself.

Confidential advocates are available 24/7 through New Hampshire’s statewide domestic violence helpline at 1-866-644-3574. You do not need to be in crisis to call.

In a brief, Sullivan and the state said they were unaware of text messages between Croft and the victim while she was meeting with investigators. But, he said, they believed she was in danger due to the surveillance and a reference Croft made concerning her attorney.

Investigators did, however, know about the text messages between Croft and his friend — and accused Moir of not showing the complete text communication. The state, with screenshots of the messages, showed that the part missing from Moir's brief was at the end of the exchange — with the friend suggesting they move communication to an app called Confide, which immediately deletes texts after they have been read.

"The friend was interviewed and confirmed that once he and the defendant switched to the app, they continued to communicate, and the friend suggested to the defendant that he should not go back to the house," the state said. "These messages and subsequent interview with the defendant's friend demonstrate that the defendant had knowledge that the victim would be returning to NH (the next day)."

When Croft returned to the home on Friday, state police were waiting for him and he was arrested.

The behavior pattern, Sullivan said, was "concerning." Sullivan added in court, "Given all these circumstances, it was certainly reasonable for the defendant to have concluded that (she) would more than likely be at that residence (Friday morning)."

After discussing the pretrial arrangement with Thompson, Judge David Anderson agreed to allow Croft to be released on personal recognizance bail at 9 a.m. on Wednesday with electronic monitoring, via an ankle bracelet. He will be required to stay at least one-quarter of a mile away from Songbird Drive, will have a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew, and will need to be tested randomly for drugs and alcohol.

"Generally," he said, "we start with the presumption that bail is presumed, in most cases … preventative detention is an exception to that and it provides clear and convincing evidence that release would pose a danger."

Anderson raised concerns about the surveillance and communication between Croft and his friend but also said those activities were "not violent in nature." Croft also had no prior record, he added.

According to the city of Concord, Croft is on unpaid leave from the department. He earned around $76,000 in 2019. He has been a police officer since 2009, working in both Concord and Franklin.

Croft was being held in Rockingham County and his case was heard in Hillsborough County due to his father, David Croft, being the sheriff of Merrimack County, after being elected in November 2020. Before being elected sheriff, David Croft was the director of pretrial services for Merrimack County.

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