LIBERTY, Maine — A claim of racial profiling levied by a black resident against a Maine State Police trooper after a roadside encounter has divided opinions in Waldo County, and prompted state police to release a video of the incident to defend the trooper and disprove the allegation.
On Jan. 19, Toussaint St. Negritude, 56, whose given name is Orson Titus, spoke of the encounter before the Belfast City Council. The incident had occurred around 5:30 p.m. Jan. 7 on Main Street in Liberty, when St. Negritude was walking home from the Liberty Library and Trooper Sarah Ferland came upon him in her cruiser.
St. Negritude — who is Belfast’s official poet laureate — told councilors Ferland stopped him, called him over, held him for half an hour and repeatedly asked him two questions: What was he doing there, and did he have any weapons?
“If anyone has any reason to have doubts about me and wants to question me, feel free, but not for a half an hour,” he told the councilors. “Not with your hand on your gun. Not with a spotlight in my face. Not with a solid two years of innocent black men being gunned down without charge.”
The latter reference was to several high-profile cases involving black men who have been killed by police around the country, including in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City.
State police strongly contest St. Negritude’s claims, and posted a 5-minute, 15-second video from the dashboard camera in Ferland’s cruiser on their Facebook page to disprove his allegation.
The video shows Ferland driving at night past St. Negritude, who was dressed in dark-colored clothing and walking with traffic on Main Street between the snowbank and the edge of the travel lane. The trooper then turned around to drive back and talk to him.
There is no clear reference or indication in the video whether Ferland identified St. Negritude’s race before talking to him.
Ferland then asked St. Negritude to step over to the cruiser and she steps out to speak with him. The encounter is not on video because the camera is fixed and faces forward on the road ahead. Their conversation was captured, but the audio is difficult to hear and is often interrupted by police radio chatter and passing vehicles on Main Street.
It is difficult to hear St. Negritude’s responses to Ferland’s questions on the video. Ferland, however, is heard clearly asking him where he was going and whether he had “knives or weapons or anything like that.”
Ferland then asked him for his identification and told him she didn’t see him when she drove up behind him. She asked him where he lived and how long he had lived in Maine. She asked him where he was coming from and for a second time inquired if he had weapons.
“You don’t have anything on you that you shouldn’t have — no knives or weapons or things like that?” Ferland asked.
After running his identification, Ferland asked him a second time how long he had been living in Maine. After he told her, again, she asked if he was living with friends. Then she expressed her concern he was walking too close to the road, saying if she had been driving closer to the side she could have clipped him. She told him to have a good night and be safe as the encounter came to an end.
Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, wrote in the Facebook post that Ferland’s handling of the incident was “well within standard police operating procedure,” and that she stopped him out of concern for his safety. McCausland pointed out that there have been 19 pedestrian fatalities in Maine in 2015, the highest number in 21 years.
In addition to the cruiser video, Maine State Police also posted a clip of St. Negritude’s comments to the Belfast council and encouraged the public to compare the two.
“While the State Police can appreciate that some people may feel scared or intimidated by the police, it is unfortunate how one person’s version of the events are completely different from what the Trooper’s dash cam shows,” McCausland wrote. “The brief interaction between Trooper Ferland and Mr. Titus lasted less than 5 minutes, and during that time she was polite and cordial and treated him with respect.”
Divided responses
The two videos elicited strong reactions, on and off social media. Some called for St. Negritude to leave Maine, have his poet laureate status revoked, or even be charged with slander. Others spoke of the importance of empathizing with him, and the difficulty and intensity of the situation.
Tammy Reynolds of Liberty said she’s relieved the police shared the video, which she hopes will put rumors about what happened Jan. 7. to rest.
“The video made the whole story make sense,” Reynolds said. “I think the trooper was right. I don’t think it had anything to do with his color. I think it did have something to do with his clothing. I’ve been pulled over by police before for speeding, and they always ask you if you have anything you shouldn’t have. I don’t think the cop did anything wrong.”
In Belfast, resident Anne Saggese, who said she knows St. Negritude slightly, had a different reaction. She viewed the the dashboard video and understood why St. Negritude could have been shaken up by the events.
“How is walking down the road at 5:30 in the evening suspicious?” Saggese asked. “Since when did walking home in dark clothes on a winter night amount to probability for the police to stop and run a check on you? The trooper did a kind, thoughtful, responsible thing stopping to point out the need to wear something bright after dark. But she took it too far when she ran a check on him. She was doing right things, but it wasn’t done right. What was meant to be a kind and helpful exchange ended up kind of intimidating and scary.”
After St. Negritude spoke at the Jan. 19 meeting, councilors directed the Belfast city manager to write a letter to the Maine State Police, explaining St. Negritude’s “valued role” within the community.
Councilor Mike Hurley said many people use the opportunity to tell councilors what is on their minds during the comment portion of their meetings, which is a public forum.
“Anybody can speak,” he said. “My reaction, personally, was to listen and to find out more later.”
After learning what the dash cam tape showed, Hurley said he was glad he had waited to weigh in on St. Negritude’s comments.
“He said 30 minutes, the tape said five minutes. Clearly Toussaint’s reaction was emotional,” the councilor said. “That said, how somebody feels when they’re going through something like this is not necessarily about what’s happening at that moment. I have no idea what it’s like to walk around black in the state of Maine — but I think it would affect me.”
When contacted Friday night, St. Negritude said what he experienced was real to him. He continued to maintain he was held by the officer for more than five minutes.
“I wish I had a witness,” he said. “It’s not my video camera. Whatever evidence there is is theirs, shaped by them, edited by them, posted by them … I experienced it. I know the truth of what happened, just as Officer Ferland does. I think that will do some good in the end.”
State police, however, said they are disheartened he used a public forum to “impugn the reputation of a hardworking and dedicated trooper and the Maine State Police by telling a story that is not supported by facts.”