By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
PORTSMOUTH – Former Portsmouth police officer Aaron Goodwin has been arrested in what the victim called a racist attack as he was leaving a Portsmouth diner four months ago.
Arrest warrants for simple assault and disorderly conduct were also issued for Kevin Goodwin and Shannon Goodwin, both of Dundalk, Md. in the alleged assault on Mamadou Dembele, a Black man who is a vice president of Bangor Savings Bank.
There have been no hate crimes charged in the incident, but it is still under investigation at the Attorney General’s Office.
“I can confirm that our Civil Rights Unit is looking at this matter,” said spokesman Mike Garrity.
A week after the incident in Portsmouth, Attorney General John Formella announced adding three new positions in the Civil Rights Unit to combat hate crimes, discrimination, and civil rights violations. The unit was established in 2017.
Aaron Goodwin, 45, of Eliot, Maine was fired from the Portsmouth Police Department after allegedly using undue influence to get an elderly woman to leave him much of her multimillion dollar estate, which was later voided in court.
According to a State Police press release Friday, on Nov. 22, 2023, the night before Thanksgiving at 10:30 p.m., Portsmouth police responded to a report of a fight at a diner on Fleet Street and made contact with several subjects including Aaron Goodwin.
Because he was formerly a Portsmouth police officer, the Portsmouth Police Department requested assistance from the New Hampshire State Police to investigate the incident.
Tyler Dumont, spokesman for the Department of Safety, said Monday the department is processing InDepthNH.org’s request for documents related to the case that are normally filed in court, under the right-to-know law RSA 91a so it was unclear when they would be made available. They weren’t available in court.
Arrest warrants were issued for Aaron Goodwin, Kevin Goodwin, 42, of Dundalk, Md., and Shannon Goodwin, 37, of Dundalk, Md.
The arrest warrants for Aaron Goodwin and Kevin Goodwin are for simple assault, a Class A misdemeanor, and disorderly conduct, a violation. The arrest warrant issued for Shannon Goodwin is for three counts of simple assault and disorderly conduct.
Aaron Goodwin turned himself into state police on Friday, was released on personal recognizance bail and is scheduled in Portsmouth District Court on April 22.
Police asked anyone with information about this incident to contact Detective Sergeant John S. Kelly at john.s.kelly@dos.nh.gov or (603) 679-3333.
James McKim, president of the Manchester branch of the NAACP, said Dembele is recovering from a concussion and seriously bruised leg.
McKim is part of a group of leaders and organizations who have been in touch with State Police and the Attorney General’s Office about Dembele’s case.
McKim said the investigation may be taking longer than usual because of the potential conflicts that first involved shifting the investigation to State Police and then from Rockingham County to Strafford County.
“While taking much longer than anyone would like it to take, we understand the challenge” with seeing that the case is as solid as it can be, McKim said.
He said there is a video that shows exactly what the victim said happened.
“They are trying to be very careful of not prejudicing the case,” McKim said.
The community and his employer have been very supportive of Mamadou Dembele, McKim said.
“I think he’s on the mend and anxious to have this case brought to a conclusion,” McKim said.
Dembele wants people to know this case is not what we value in New Hampshire, McKim said.