LEWISTON – The man who bowled a frozen pig’s head into a local mosque Monday was fired by the city four years ago for shouting a lewd epithet at a woman driver.
His termination had nothing to do with ethnic or religious bias, a city spokesman said Friday.
Brent Matthews, 33, was trying to complete a task in a cross street with a city co-worker on July 9, 2002, when a woman driver failed to stop for them. A witness reported that Matthews shouted a sexual slur at the woman.
Matthews’ dismissal letter also alleges that he:
• misused city vehicles for personal errands;
• was late for work seven times over a four-month period;
• refused to wear his public works uniform; and
• didn’t wear a safety vest when he was supposed to.
The letter said he displayed “poor judgment and attitude” in flouting departmental rules.
Speaking at a City Hall press conference Friday morning, Deputy City Administrator Phil Nadeau said nothing in the several years Matthews worked for the city foreshadowed his alleged actions Monday.
Joining Nadeau, Police Chief William Welch said he hadn’t seen any evidence that would connect Matthews’ actions to any conspiracy or trend.
Matthews confessed to rolling a pig’s head through the door of a Lisbon Street mosque Monday night during prayers.
“All indications are that it is an isolated incident by this one individual,” Welch said. So far, police have found no links between Matthews and white supremacy groups, Welch said.
The investigation
Police are monitoring Matthews’ activities, Welch said, paying “special attention to his whereabouts.” Beat officers were given photographs of Matthews. Police are delving into his background, including talking to his associates, Welch said.
In 2003, a national neo-Nazi group, World Church of the Creator, held a rally in Lewiston, triggered by the city’s mayor who penned a letter asking Somalis to voluntarily slow their migration to Lewiston. The community held a counter rally as a display of solidarity against racial bias.
Nadeau said the Somali population in Lewiston has swelled to roughly 2,800 at a rate of about 30 per month. Most Somalis are Muslims.
Police have had “a lot” of contact with Matthews over the years, Welch said, but never about anything involving the Muslim or Somali community.
Matthews pleaded guilty in 2002 to possession of a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, according to court records. He also pleaded guilty to operating under the influence in 2005.
Police, working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are continuing their investigation, Welch said. They have forwarded some information about Matthews to the Maine attorney general’s office for possible Civil Rights Act violations and to the District Attorneys Office on the pending misdemeanor charge of desecration of a place of worship. Local police and FBI hope to wrap up their investigation as early as next week.
Todd DiFede, the FBI’s supervisory agent in charge of Maine, said his agency would forward any possible federal violation to the U.S. Attorneys Office in Portland.
Can’t be tolerated’
Public officials on Friday stressed the importance of understanding whether Matthews was motivated by bias or was just playing a joke, as he told police, when he rolled the pig’s head into the mosque.
“It’s a fine line,” Welch said. “We take this very seriously, whether an isolated incident or a hate crime … This just can’t be tolerated.”
Welch said he doesn’t want what he believes is a “random senseless, stupid act” to spiral into something more.
“We just don’t want it to escalate to an uprising,” he said. “A lot of people are making assumptions and statements not based on fact,” he said. Welch said he believes Lewiston is the safest community in Maine.
Asked by a reporter where the pig’s head came from, Welch said police have an idea, but aren’t saying.
No one from the Muslim community attended the press conference, held in Lewiston City Council chambers. Although he’s had conversations with Somalis recently, Welch said he didn’t specifically invite them to the Friday event. He said he hoped their absence was an indication that “they feel confident in what we’re doing” to investigate the matter.
Fewer incidents of alleged hate crimes have been reported each year since the influx of Somalis began in 2001, Welch said.
A rash of recent vandalism reported by some Somalis has turned out not to be linked, Welch said. Those reports, coupled with the death of a Somali man held at the Androscoggin County Jail, spawned a rally a month ago across from the police station.
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