Concord Monitor – UNH student arrested for assaulting police chief says video shows he was misidentified

A University of New Hampshire student accused of assaulting the school's police chief during a pro-Palestinian protest on May 1 was mistakenly identified and then violently arrested, the student said in an interview Friday.

During a physical confrontation between other protesters and UNH Police Chief Paul Dean, student Aidan Turner, 21, paced nearby, video from the interaction, Turner said. Seconds later, as Dean walked away with rain protection from a tent he had confiscated, Turner, wearing a beige coat and red sweatshirt, shouted at his fellow protesters to “lock arms” in a circle – but did not appear to make physical contact with Dean himself.

Turner's account and the video footage contradict the probable cause affidavit in his case, which alleges that Turner “grabbed Chief Dean” and then “grabbed him again.” Turner was charged with assault, as well as criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

“I didn’t touch the boss,” said Turner, a rising senior from Connecticut. “At best, I would say it’s a false identification. At worst, I'm just a scapegoat for the boss, unable to find anyone to file a complaint against.”

Dean, through a UNH spokesperson, declined to comment, citing ongoing criminal investigations into those arrested on May 1.

Dean has also previously been criticised for engaging with protesters while dressed in civilian clothes. Turner said Dean did not identify himself and did not know he was a police officer.

“He looked like he just came from a golf league or something,” Turner said of Dean.

Of the 12 people arrested on May 1, 10 were students.

The way UNH handled Turner's criminal case appears to contrast with how the university has responded to prosecutions of most other arrested students — including another student who claimed he was arrested by mistake, but identified himself as a “counter-protester.” Last month, the UNH Police Department dropped all charges against the student after a friend emailed then-UNH President James Dean informing him that he had been “mistaken for a protester,” according to a Boston Globe report. (Former President James Dean, whose term ended last week, is not related to Police Chief Paul Dean.)

Last week, a UNH Police Department prosecutor offered to drop charges against another student arrested in exchange for 40 hours of community service, a deal the prosecutor said the student that he would conclude with any of the other protesters who had been charged only with disorderly conduct and trespassing.

Turner is one of two students who are also accused of assault. The other student, Sebastian Rowan, 29, is charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, charges that could result in a prison sentence of two to five years.

In a separate interview Friday, Rowan declined to comment on the specifics of the charges against him, except to say he did not resist arrest or assault any officers. He is accused of grabbing Chief Dean twice and hitting two other officers in the head with a sign, according to court records.

Strafford County Assistant Prosecutor Walter Ramos, who is prosecuting the cases against Turner and Rowan, said Friday that he was still waiting to receive the documents from UNH in both cases and did not yet have enough information to determine whether he would consider dropping any of the charges against the men or offering plea deals. Ramos said he expected to receive the files in the coming weeks.

In the interview, Turner also accused UNH police of using excessive force during his arrest. The arrest was also filmed.

According to the video and Turner's account, UNH police officer and district attorney Frank Weeks charged Turner, placed him in a headlock and threw him to the ground.

“I definitely think he used excessive force,” said Turner, who added that Weeks did not try to stop him peacefully. “He saw me, I remember he smiled a little, he ran up to me, grabbed me and threw me to the ground. So there was no “Stop right now, you're under arrest.” »

Weeks did not respond to a request for comment.

Turner’s arrest came more than an hour after Dean confronted the protesters. Dean had given Weeks a description of Turner — that he was “wearing a ‘tan and red coat’” — that Weeks used to identify him, according to the probable cause affidavit in Turner’s case.

Turner said that after he was arrested, he asked Weeks to have Dean make an identification of him, which Weeks refused.

Turner was held overnight at the Strafford County Jail, where he was strip-searched and given a tuberculosis injection.

“One by one, almost everyone I was arrested with received their papers and left until this happened. [Rowan] and me, and then they said, 'You have to stay the night because you have assault charges,'” Turner said.

He described the night in prison as “probably the worst experience of my entire life”.

Rowan and Turner were both arraigned the next day. Rowan has since returned to court for a probable cause hearing, but Turner has not. Turner's trial is scheduled for Sept. 10, Ramos said.

Turner's public defender, Katelyn Henmueller, did not respond to a request for comment on the status of his case.

Turner said the experience of being arrested for something he said he didn't do changed his perception of UNH.

“I was really proud to call myself a student here and I love being here,” said Turner, who transferred to the university in the spring of his sophomore year. “But after that, it's really hard to see things the same way as before. »

You can contact Jeremy Margolis at [email protected].