‘I Will Kill You’: Read the Police Report in Maine GOPer’s Domestic Assault Case
Political consultant Erick Bennett, who is challenging moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine’s GOP primary, was convicted in 2004 of assaulting his wife. When his criminal past resurfaced, he crafted an unusual response: He said that his fight to against his conviction showed that he was a man of determination and principle. “The fact that I have been jailed repeatedly for not agreeing to admit to something I didn’t do should speak to the fact of how much guts and integrity I have,” he told the Bangor Daily News in December. Though the assault conviction has received media coverage, the full details of the case have not drawn much attention. Police records and court documents obtained by Mother Jones describe the incident, and suggest that Bennett may have trouble escaping his past.
In early 2004, Erick, his then-wife Angela, their two-year-old twins, and Angela’s eight-year-old son from another relationship were living in a motel room in Bangor, because a recent fire had damaged their apartment. Here is Angela’s description of what happened on January 16, according to the report she filed with the Bangor police. (The department redacted some names for privacy reasons.):
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