Former Portsmouth Police Officer Receives First Amendment Award

The officer at the heart of a case that led to a Portsmouth Police sergeant being fired for undue influence against an elderly woman with dementia worth millions of dollars received an award for his diligent protection of the woman.

John Connors of Portsmouth was named the 13th recipient of the Nackey S. Loeb First Amendment Award on Nov. 12, 2015, in Concord.

For more than three years, Connors attempted to inform superiors and others about the actions of Det. Sgt. Aaron Goodwin, who befriended Geraldine Webber, a woman in her 90s with dementia, who later bequeathed her estate to Goodwin in 2012. Connors said that no one would listen to him – from higher ups, to city councilors, nor the police commission – when he raised suspicions about the situation going on next door to his home. But he kept at it and eventually, his persistence began to turn the case around, first via Jim Splaine, a city councilor, and others. After reviews and court cases, it was found that Goodwin facilitated a change in her will. He was later fired and lost control of the estate.

Connors was put under a gag order by police officials not to speak about the case. He would later sue and resigned in September after about four decades with the department. 

Laconia Circuit Court Judge James Carroll, who didn’t attend the event, received the Quill and Ink Award, for finding in favor of two New Hampshire individuals who sued public boards after being arrested for trying to utilize their First Amendment Rights.