A Portsmouth bank executive is suing a former police officer who assaulted him outside a diner last November.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, Mamadou Dembele accuses former Portsmouth officer Aaron Goodwin of assault and battery, saying he’s still dealing with lingering physical injuries and psychological trauma.
Dembele encountered Goodwin, along with his brother and sister-in-law, at Gilley’s Diner late on the night of Nov. 22, 2023. Dembele says that during a verbal dispute outside the diner, Goodwin threw him to the ground, causing him to strike his head on the pavement. Dembele, who is Black, also says Goodwin’s sister-in-law made racist comments about him before the assault.
Goodwin, who was fired from the police department in 2015, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault last month. A spokesperson for the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said its civil rights unit has also been reviewing the incident and expects to conclude their investigation soon.
Community leaders rallied around Dembele when he went public about the assault late last year. He has said he believes he was attacked because he is Black.
In his lawsuit, Dembele says he had to get surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon and is still experiencing symptoms from the concussion he suffered, among other injuries, estimating his medical bills at around $50,000 to date. He says he’s been diagnosed with PTSD, his job performance has suffered and he’s grown more fearful for his safety.
“Mr. Dembele, a black man, suffered, and suffers, emotional and psychological trauma from an assault by a white former police officer in a city in which that officer served,” the lawsuit states.
Goodwin’s attorney, John Durkin, denied the assault was racially motivated and said Goodwin himself did not use any racist language. (He declined to comment when asked whether either of Goodwin’s companions made such comments.) He said Dembele confronted Goodwin’s group outside the diner, and Goodwin acted under the belief he was defending his sister-in-law. He also questioned the extent of the injuries attributed to the assault.
“Aaron looks forward to the open and transparent process of the civil litigation to expose these facts, and expose these complaints for what they are, which is exaggerations and falsehoods,” Durkin said.
Goodwin’s brother, Kevin Goodwin, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in August. Goodwin’s sister-in-law, Shannon Goodwin, was also charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and assault. New Hampshire State Police declined to comment Wednesday on the status of Shannon Goodwin’s case.
Goodwin was fired from the Portsmouth Police Department over allegations he improperly influenced an elderly woman with dementia who left him a $2 million inheritance.
