Stalking Petition Against Patten Dismissed

A stalking petition filed by a Concord man against a sitting Concord City Councilor and state representative has been thrown out of court.

Sam Reid, a neighbor of Patten's who helped him with odd jobs at his house filed the stalking order alleging that Patten tried to kiss him and repeatedly called and texted him, against his wishes. The judge granted a temporary petition in April but threw it out on June 17.

Patten said he was pleased with the outcome.

“I’m very happy,” he said. “I’m very relieved. I’m so thankful for Mark (Sisti) for what he’s done in the case.”

Patten said despite the seriousness of the charge, he “didn’t take anything for granted” and was initially shocked at the allegations leveled by Reid.

“I was trying to help somebody that was in trouble,” he said, “like I help everyone.”

Mark Sisti, Patten’s attorney in the case, said he wasn’t surprised by the court decision. Reid didn’t have any “factual material to support his claim,” he said.

“We didn’t think that the allegations were sufficient and we moved to dismiss and the judge agreed,” Sisti said, adding that the entire matter was “squirrely,” considering that Reid was asking for money from Patten and then, all of sudden, when he wasn’t being given money anymore, filed the stalking petition.

“We maintain the entire scenario was absurd,” Sisti said. "Dick is not a harasser or a stalker … there is no evidence of that. It’s one of those situations that, thank God, we were able to get in front of a judge and air (the case out).”

However, Reid’s attorney, James Shepard, disagreed with the ruling and added that his client was disappointed with the outcome.

"I think that the petition fairly laid out a course of conduct that most people expect (from public officials),” he said. “My client is in a population of vulnerable people and the defendant was not. I think it’s fair to say (Patten) took advantage of the situation.”

Shepard added that Reid would not be re-filing because “the point has been made” to Patten.

Patten said he hadn’t made a decision on whether or not if would be running for re-election to represent Ward 8 on the city council this November. A number of voters, he said, had asked him to stay on. Patten said he was leaning towards running for re-election but would make a firm decision in September.

Along with serving the constituents of Ward 8, Patten said he would be working on the Grange’s 100th anniversary in New Hampshire project as well as organizing the Christmas Parade and tree lighting for later this year.