This story was originally produced by the Portsmouth Herald. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
A Rockingham County judge has ruled none of the three Goodwins violated the state Civil Rights Act in the November 2023 downtown assault of a Black bank executive, rejecting the New Hampshire attorney general’s claims.
Aaron Goodwin, an ex-Portsmouth police sergeant, his brother Kevin Goodwin and sister-in-law Shannon Goodwin were all cleared of the state’s accusations July 2 by Judge Andrew Schulman. Attorney General John Formella brought the complaint against the Goodwins last October, alleging Aaron and Kevin Goodwin each committed one violation of the law while Shannon Goodwin committed two violations during their encounter with Mamadou Dembele.
Schulman roundly condemned the Goodwins’ actions outside of Gilley’s Diner in his Wednesday ruling, but did not deem they were racially motivated.
“To be clear, all three Goodwins were out-of-control on November 22, 2023. Kevin’s comments in the diner were reprehensible. Shannon’s conduct was outrageous. Aaron’s conduct properly resulted in a criminal conviction, and might have supported a more serious charge. But the court decides this case by applying the statutory law to the facts that were actually introduced at trial,” Schulman wrote.
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