LEWISTON — A former police officer was arrested early Thursday and charged with violating bail stemming from an alleged assault on his girlfriend in the spring.

Timothy Darnell, 47, was arrested at 3:30 a.m. on Roland Avenue, charged with violating conditions of release, violating bail and criminal trespass.

An 18-year veteran of the police force, Darnell remained at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn on Thursday night. He had resigned from the Lewiston Police Department following his arrest in the spring.

Darnell is accused of violating conditions set after his arrest in May, during which he was charged with assaulting his girlfriend on Free Street in Portland. He was arrested a second time the next morning, accused of returning to the alleged victim's home.

By that point,  he already had surrendered his police badge and gun and had been placed on administrative leave. He resigned a short time later, according to Deputy Police Chief James Minkowsky.

In her complaint, the alleged victim wrote that Darnell "assaulted me the evening of (Saturday, May 5) in Portland." She accused him of "grabbing me by the throat and shoving my head into a glass window."

Friends of the couple have described the relationship as tumultuous. Protection orders have been filed prohibiting Darnell from approaching the woman.

Darnell started with the Lewiston Police Department in 1994. He served as a Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer, working with elementary schoolchildren. He was also a school resource officer and a Gang Resistance Education and Training instructor for Lewiston Middle School.

Androscoggin County Jail

timothy darnell