LEWISTON — A judge has found there was no probable cause to support two of three charges against a local man, after viewing his cellphone videoed encounter with local police.
Lewiston Police Officer Parker Simoneau arrested Kon Maiwan. Instagram screenshot
Kon Maiwan, 30, was charged with the misdemeanor crimes of disorderly conduct, obstructing government administration and refusing to submit to arrest or detention after a confrontation with police April 18, resulting in his arrest.
He was taken to Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn and released on $200 cash bail.
Maiwan, who is Black, later shared a video recording of his interaction with Lewiston Police Officer Parker Simoneau on social media that went viral, sparking concerns within the community.
Maiwan’s court-appointed attorney, Jesse James Ian Archer, challenged probable cause underlying the charges when Maiwan appeared in 8th District Court on June 7 for his arraignment.
Maine District Court Judge Sarah Churchill postponed the arraignment in order to review evidence in the case, including Maiwan’s video recording of the police encounter.
She gave Maiwan and the prosecutor until June 30 to submit evidence and arguments against or in favor of probable cause for the charges.
Churchill issued a written order last week in which she found “there is no probable cause” supporting the charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing government administration. She ordered that any bail in connection with those charges “is hereby exonerated and discharged.”
She wrote that she found there was probable cause to support the charge of refusing to submit to arrest or detention, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and that Maiwan’s bail would continue to be in effect for that charge.
An Aug. 30 arraignment date is scheduled on the three charges.
In her order, Churchill noted six “contradictions” between written reports from prosecutors and Maiwan’s video recording, including language Maiwan allegedly used in addressing the people in the police cruiser and Maiwan’s alleged refusal to follow multiple commands as officers arrested him and took him into custody.
At one point during Maiwan’s encounter with police, Officer Simoneau ordered Maiwan’s identification sometime between when Simoneau told Maiwan to leave the area and when the officer began following Maiwan, telling him to stop, Churchill wrote.
“Officer Simoneau maintains he made a lawful demand for Mr. Maiwan’s identification so that he could give him a disorderly conduct warning,” Churchill wrote in her order. “This is not credible as Officer Simoneau had already given Mr. Maiwan a verbal disorderly conduct warning a full 16 seconds into their interaction.”
Churchill wrote that she based her findings largely on the “reasonably trustworthy information” gleaned from Maiwan’s video recording as well as a video (without sound) submitted by prosecutors showing Maiwan encountering the police cruiser and up to the time Officer Simoneau is seen putting on gloves while following Maiwan.
The judge wrote that the remedy for finding no probable cause to support the two charges is not for her to dismiss them.
Had Maiwan not posted bail and, instead, been held in custody, he could have been released from jail within two days of his arrest if probable cause hadn’t been established for those charges, Churchill wrote.
Archer has questioned why Maine law doesn’t allow a judge to simply dismiss charges after determining there was no probable cause to support them.
Efforts were unsuccessful to reach District Attorney Neil McLean Jr. on Thursday about Churchill’s order and whether he planned to dismiss the two charges for which she found no probable cause.
Similar efforts to reach Lewiston Police Chief David St. Pierre for comment also were unsuccessful.
St. Pierre released a statement in April after Maiwan’s arrest urging patience as the department continued its investigation into the matter.
St. Pierre said Simoneau had been accompanied that day in his cruiser by a “Project Support You” counselor who was actively engaging with clients expecting to maintain confidentiality when Maiwan approached them.
In his video recording, Maiwan can be heard asking why he was being followed and that Simoneau should “learn this community.”
Simoneau followed Maiwan on foot and arrested him after a brief chase.
Maiwan, a lifelong Lewiston resident, is a former economic development specialist for the city and a former educator.
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