Assault case against Portland city official dropped
Portland City Hall in March 2022. (Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer)
The Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office will not pursue assault charges against the city’s director of housing and economic development, who was issued a summons in March.
District Attorney Jacqueline Sartoris said in a statement that her office assessed and decided against moving forward with the case against Gregory Watson because it was not provable.
“To charge, a prosecutor must determine that allegations are in their estimation provable beyond a reasonable doubt. Some reviewed cases do not meet that standard,” Sartoris wrote in a statement.
Watson, 54, was accused of assault after a February incident on Congress Street. Police at the time did not release additional information about the alleged incident, and no filings were available at the Cumberland County Courthouse.
Watson was placed on paid administrative leave the day he was issued the summons and was still on leave as of Thursday morning, according to city spokeswoman Jessica Grondin. He had been paid $55,013 through July 24, she said.
Grondin declined to provide additional information on Watson’s case, including whether the city will pursue its own investigation.
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Tagged: city of portland, crime, district attorney
Madeleine is a community reporter for Gorham, Buxton and Standish. She started her journalism career in Vermont, where she reported for Seven Days and served as the editor-in-chief of Middlebury College's. More by Madeleine Kaptein
