NH lawmaker's 107 mph traffic stop reignites bodycam fight
New Hampshire Democratic state Rep. Ellen Read faces speeding charges after a Rockingham County deputy clocked her at 107 mph during a December 2024 traffic stop on Interstate 93, and Fox News Digital confirmed the sheriff's office has neither bodycam nor dashboard camera footage of the encounter. Read argues the New Hampshire Constitution protected her from arrest while traveling from legislative duties.
Key Takeaways
- Rep. Ellen Read (D-Newmarket) was clocked at 107 mph in a 65 mph zone on I-93 in Windham on Dec. 2, 2024, then allegedly at 92 mph in Londonderry on June 5, 2025.
- The Rockingham County Sheriff's Office does not use body-worn or dashboard cameras, citing a lack of funding.
- Read seeks dismissal under a state constitutional clause shielding lawmakers from arrest while going to or from the Legislature; the New Hampshire Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal at this stage.
- She was found guilty of negligent driving in the first case, with a deferred sentence hearing set for August 2026.
- Bipartisan colleagues, including Rep. Kimberly Rice (R-Hudson), have called for her resignation.
What happened in the 107 mph traffic stop?
According to authorities cited by The Boston Globe, a Rockingham County deputy stopped Read's 2009 Toyota Yaris on the afternoon of Dec. 2, 2024, after clocking 107 mph in a 65 mph zone on I-93 in Windham. She was driving away from Concord toward employment in Woburn, Massachusetts, Major Christopher Bashaw said.
Bashaw said speeds over 100 mph are treated as evidence of reckless operation, an arrestable offense, but the deputy issued a citation and let her leave. Read later told Fox News Digital she admitted going about 85 mph and would accept a speeding ticket, while disputing the 107 mph allegation and a reckless-driving claim.
Six months later, on June 5, 2025, another deputy allegedly clocked her at 92 mph in a 65 mph zone on I-93 southbound in Londonderry. Bashaw said that stop lasted about eight or nine minutes and ended with a ticket. For related digital-policy coverage, see BlasterPost Fintech & Crypto Alerts.
Why does the missing bodycam footage matter?
Without bodycam or dashcam video, there is no official recording of either traffic stop. Bashaw told Fox News Digital the sheriff's office lacks funding for the equipment and would like to equip deputies. New Hampshire created a Body-Worn and Dashboard Camera Fund in 2021 for matching grants, but state law does not require agencies to buy or use cameras.
Read said she has supported body-camera legislation and funding and disputed the office's claim that she recorded part of the stop on her phone. "They are incorrect, I wish I had," she said, adding that the absence of officer cameras is why she is investing in a dash cam.
Can legislative privilege cancel a traffic stop?
Read argues a New Hampshire Constitution clause bars arresting or holding lawmakers to bail while going to, returning from, or attending the Legislature. Her counsel sought dismissal; a judge denied that motion in the first case. She was found guilty of negligent driving, a noncriminal violation, with a $1,240 fine and a possible license suspension for another moving violation within two years.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court declined in June 2026 to hear her constitutional challenge at this stage. New England Law professor Lawrence Friedman said the clause was meant to prevent delay of legislative duties, not blanket immunity from ordinary moving violations. WMUR reported bipartisan calls for resignation, with Rice saying lawmakers "are not above the law" and "should be held to a higher standard."