Ex-Portsmouth officer Aaron Goodwin charged in assault victim says was 'racist' attack

PORTSMOUTH — Former Portsmouth police officer Aaron Goodwin has been charged with simple assault in connection with a Nov. 22 fight at a diner on Fleet Street.

Local bank executive Mamadou Dembele, who identified himself as a victim in the incident, has publicly called it a racist attack, which Goodwin denies.

Goodwin, now 45, of Eliot, Maine, was fired from the Portsmouth Police Department in 2015 after being accused of exercising undue influence to get an elderly, mentally impaired woman to leave most of her multi-million-dollar estate to him. A probate court judge voided the trust that made Goodwin the prime beneficiary and restored an earlier trust that gave the money to her grandson, Shriner's Hospitals for Children, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and others.

Now he is being charged with simple assault, along with his brother Kevin, 42, of Dundalk, Maryland, and Shannon Goodwin, 37, of Dundalk, Maryland. Aaron Goodwin and Kevin Goodwin are charged with simple assault (Class A misdemeanor) and disorderly conduct (violation). The arrest warrant issued for Shannon Goodwin is for three counts of simple assault (Class A misdemeanors) and disorderly conduct (violation).

New Hampshire State Police and the Strafford County attorney's office have led the investigation, which initially included the attorney general. Portsmouth Police Chief Mark Newport previously said the case was handed over to avoid a conflict due to a former employee's connection to the case. City police responded to the incident about 10:30 p.m. the night before Thanksgiving.

Mamadou Dembele said he was victim of 'racist attack'

"Mamadou is grateful for law enforcement’s diligent work in this case," said Robin Melone, Dembele's attorney, in a prepared statement Friday. "It has been a long wait to see Aaron Goodwin arrested.  The arrest is just step one.  We will continue to respect that the process takes time, but are fully invested in justice for Mamadou and the community members impacted by Goodwin’s conduct."

Dembele received an outpouring of support in a public rally in Portsmouth following the attack.

Dembele, who is Black and a vice president with Bangor Savings Bank, has said in a prepared statement at that rally that he was assaulted the night of Wednesday, Nov. 22, by a person who used language that made it clear it was a racist attack. He said he did not know the attacker.

Melone previously said she has “no question” the alleged incident was a hate crime against her client.

Goodwin placed blame on Dembele for the incident.

"I was acting in defense of my sister in law," Goodwin said in a prepared statement provided to Seacoastonline. "Mr. Dembele pursued her and I perceived him as a threat after he put his tray of food on the ground and got in her face. I pulled him away from her. There was nothing more. The entire incident is on surveillance. After a four month long investigation I’m not being charged with anything race related. You wouldn’t know it though from reading seacoastonline. Extremely irresponsible/divisive reporting."

Police did not announce any charges against Dembele.

When asked why the charges against Goodwin did not address the racial aspect of the case, Melone, Dembele's lawyer, responded: "We stand by our original statement. The facts in this case will speak for themselves when it is time."

Melone also responded to Goodwin's comment.

"We know what happened," Melone said. "And we've seen the video. I'm not interested in a debate about whether the police had probable cause to arrest. They did a thorough investigation and got a warrant."

Community organizes support for Dembele

Dembele has been supported by a coalition of Black and Indigenous People of Color organizations throughout the state, including the New Hampshire Business Alliance for People of Color, the Black Heritage Trail of NH, Seacoast NAACP, Manchester NAACP, the New Hampshire Center for Justice and Equity, the New England BIPOC Festival and Black Lives Matter New Hampshire.

Will Arvelo, chairperson of the New Hampshire Business Alliance for People of Color, reacted to the charges against the three Goodwins on Friday afternoon.

“I can speak for the coalition of concerned BIPOC (organizations) in New Hampshire that have been following this from the beginning and supporting Mamadou Dembele through the process," Arvelo said in a prepared statement. "We obviously have had concerns about the time it took to get where we are today and we now understand that this was a complicated case. We better understand the process.

"We are happy that this door has been closed to provide some level of relief and validation also to Mamadou Dembele because he was concerned that nothing was going to happen and that he was not being taken seriously in terms of what he knew happened," Arvelo added. "That’s a relief for him. I know that he suffered both physical and emotional harm. We’re very happy that we are where we are today and we’re very appreciative of the efforts of state police, the (attorney general’s) office and the Strafford County prosecutors in terms of bringing it to where we are today. We know this is just the first step in the process but that the folks that committed this assault, their names are out there and we’ll see where it goes from there. Justice still has to go through its process. We will still pay attention to it to make sure justice is rendered.”

Arvelo also commented on how long it took for arrests to be made.

“We say that had that been a Black man attacking a white person, that Black man would have been arrested right then," Arvelo said. "We all believe that. As a community of concerned BIPOC people and organizations, we feel that this was a hate crime. We don’t see it as anything but that. We believe that the evidence will show that that’s what it was.”

What's next for assault suspects

On Friday, Aaron Goodwin voluntarily surrendered, police said. He was released on personal recognizance bail and is scheduled to appear April 22 in Portsmouth District Court. State Police were preparing to take Kevin Goodwin and Shannon Goodwin into custody Friday, they said.

It was not immediately known if the suspects have attorneys.

Officers from the Portsmouth Police Department, analysts from the New Hampshire Information and Analysis Center, Troopers from the Maryland State Police and the Strafford County Attorney’s Office assisted in the investigation, police said.

Police said the investigation is ongoing and ask anyone with information who hasn’t already spoken with investigators to contact Detective Sgt. John S. Kelly at john.s.kelly@dos.nh.gov or (603) 679-3333.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Ex-Portsmouth police officer Aaron Goodwin charged with assault