Who polices Manchester
Manchester runs its own police department. Arrests in town are made by Manchester officers, who book you at the Manchester Police Department and either release you or set a bond.
Interstate 84 runs through Manchester, and highway stops there may be made by state troopers rather than town officers. That changes which agency has your paperwork and which number to call about someone being held. It does not change the court.
Where your case goes
Manchester arrests are prosecuted at Manchester Superior Court, GA 12, in Manchester itself, which makes this one of the few towns in Connecticut where the courthouse is in your own town. The court page covers parking, the arraignment docket, and where to check in.
Released after the arrest, your date is printed on your paperwork. Held, you go to court the next business day.
After the arrest
Manchester officers either release you on a written promise to appear or set a bond you can post, or hold you for court the next business day. Released, the date is on your paperwork; held, a judge reviews the bond at the first appearance. The arrest page covers booking and the bond and bail page covers the money.
Family violence runs on its own clock. Court is the next business day whether or not you were released, and the judge issues a protective order at that appearance, which can put you out of your own home the same day.
Until then, do not explain what happened. Not to officers, not to anyone else involved, and not on a jail phone, which is recorded. The arraignment page walks through the first court date; the what to expect page covers the months after.
Common charges in Manchester
The Buckland Hills retail area sits in Manchester, and the volume of stores there makes larceny and shoplifting a larger share of the Manchester docket at GA 12 than in most towns this size. A first shoplifting charge is often the kind of case a diversionary program ends in dismissal, which matters because larceny is a crime of dishonesty and follows people into job and licensing applications.
The rest of the docket is the usual range: DUI, domestic violence and family violence, assault, and drug possession.