NH Trial Of Wilmington Hockey Coach Starts In May

BRENTWOOD, NH -- A youth hockey coach from Wilmington will accused of charging at a responding police officer called to break up multiple fights after a game in December will get his day in court in May, according to the Eagle Tribue, which first reported this story. Robert Andersen pleaded not guilty to charges of simple assault and criminal threatening of a police officer, claiming he was trying to break up fights between parents before police arrived. Andersen was the only person arrested following the Dec. 2 incident at the Icenter in Brentwood, NH.

Police later arrested Christopher Albano, of Reading, and John Chesna, of Revere. Albano's arrest came after he publicly criticized the police response online; police say they made the arrest after reviewing additional footage of the fights.

In an unusual twist, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a motion to join Andersen's defense team. The ACLU filed public records requests in May for basic information that has not been released, including police reports. Those files remained sealed. A judge will rule on the motion on Monday. The trial, which will start in May, is expected to last between five and seven days.

Correction: An earlier version of this story had the wrong date for the anticipated start of Andersen's trial.

For more on this story, see the Eagle Tribune. Subscribe to Wilmington Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).