BATH, Maine — A Lisbon Falls man has been sentenced to three years in jail for assaulting a Bath policeman who was trying to serve him with a protection from abuse order, according to Bath Lt. Stan Cielinski.
A Sagadahoc County Superior Court Jury found Thomas G. Coffill III guilty of felony assault on a police office on Thursday, according to a press release. Coffill, 40, also pleaded guilty to three related misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief, refusing to submit to arrest and assault. Coffill received a jail sentence of 364 days for the misdemeanor offenses, which will run concurrently with the three-year sentence for the assault on a police officer, which happened earlier this year.
On April 3, Bath police responded to a call at 12 Russell St. in Bath to assist the Lisbon Police Department in locating Coffill. A Bath officer found Coffill and his father at home and told Coffill that a Lisbon officer was en route to serve him protection from abuse paperwork. Coffill became upset and went into the home while the Bath officer spoke with another family member. Coffill then sneaked out of the home, but a Bath officer later saw him return to the residence.
Bath Patrol Officer Jason Aucoin, who returned to the home along with other officers from Bath and Lisbon, tried to read the protection from abuse order to Coffill outside the home. According to police, Coffill became angry and knocked the paperwork out of Aucoin’s hand and shoved a second Bath officer before running toward the home.
The officers attempted to arrest Coffill and a struggle ensued. Bath Officer Michael Lever was injured during the struggle when Coffill trapped his leg in a door and refused to surrender. Coffill eventually was handcuffed and placed in a Bath police cruiser, where he kicked another Bath officer and shattered the cruiser’s side rear window.
According to the press release, Coffill has a history of violent behavior, including seven previous assault convictions, three convictions for terrorizing and one conviction for violating a protective order.
Coffill is in jail and facing new charges in Androscoggin County for criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, terrorizing and violating conditions of release.
