A Maine Warden Service pilot who allegedly assaulted a Bangor police officer during a concert Friday night at the city’s waterfront pavilion has been put on administrative leave.

Bangor police arrested Charles Later, 58, of Shirley after he became combative, WCSH-TV reported. Later was attending a concert by country artists Sammy Kershaw and Rowdy Yates.

Later was arrested four years ago on a charge of domestic violence assault.

On Friday night, Bangor police charged Later with assault on an officer, refusal to submit to arrest, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, the Portland television station reported.

Later was taken to the Penobscot County Jail. A jail intake worker said Tuesday night that Later was released over the weekend.

Cpl. John MacDonald, spokesman for the Maine Warden Service, confirmed in an email Tuesday night that Later is on administrative leave stemming from an arrest by Bangor police on Friday evening.

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“Our game wardens, like all law enforcement professionals, are held to a very high standard of conduct,” said Col. Joel Wilkinson, chief of the warden service, in a statement issued Tuesday. “In addition to the investigation being conducted by the Bangor Police Department, the Maine Warden Service has begun its own internal investigation concerning this weekend’s incident involving Warden pilot Charles Later to ensure that appropriate action is taken.”

Wilkinson said that details concerning the incident “are not available for public dissemination. This is standard protocol for investigations of this nature.”

Sgt. Tim Cotton, spokesman for the Bangor Police Department, could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Later was arrested in June 2012 on a domestic violence charge. He was placed on administrative leave with pay, according to a news story in the Morning Sentinel.

“His wife called 911 and reported her husband, the defendant, was intoxicated and started smashing items in the house, throwing food,” Piscataquis County District Attorney Christopher Almy said at the time. “Defendant ripped the phone from the wall and shoved her – that’s what she reported.”

Later is one of three pilots assigned to the Maine Warden Service’s Aviation Division, according to the agency’s website.

Pilots are also sworn game wardens. The service operates three planes.


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