AUBURN – A black man and his white girlfriend were holding hands as they walked across South Bridge at dusk on a quiet night last summer.
The man was the first to notice the bicycle on the other side of the bridge. He thought nothing of it until he heard the man on the bucycle shout a racial epithet and say, “What the … are you looking at?”
In the minutes that followed, the man got off his bike, informed the couple that he owned a shotgun and threatened to kill them both.
A year later, the Maine Attorney General’s Office is going after a 19-year-old for allegedly violating the Maine Civil Rights Act.
Richard J. Saucier of Lewiston could face up to $5,000 in fines if the court agrees that he intentionally interfered with the couple’s right to walk in public without being subjected to physical force or violence and that his intentions were based on the couple’s race and color.
The Attorney General’s Office has also asked that the court place a permanent injunction on Saucier. The injunction would serve as a restraining order, forbidding him from going within 150 feet of the either of the people he is accused to threatening.
Saucier could not be reached for comment Monday.
The incident occurred on July 13, 2004, shortly after 8 p.m., according to the state’s lawsuit.
After exchanging words with the man, the suit says, Saucier got off his bike, then crossed the bridge while shouting, “I’ll stab you.”
The couple claims Saucier told them that he had a shotgun at home and was going to get it. He allegedly reached for an object hidden in his waistband, but the couple never saw what it was.
After the woman placed herself between Saucier and her boyfriend, the state alleges, Saucier pulled down his pants and exposed himself while making other lewd threats.
He eventually walked away, repeating the threat that he’d be back with his shotgun, the suit says.
The couple reported the incident to local police. Since the incident involved physical threats seemingly spurred by the man’s color and race, police reported the case to the Attorney General’s Office, which is responsible for prosecuting hate crimes.
The Maine Civil Rights Act prohibits people from assaulting or threatening others on the basis of race, sexual orientation, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, or physical or mental disabilities.
If a judge grants the state’s request, Saucier would face criminal charges punishable by up to a year in prison and $2,000 fines for any future violations of the act.
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