The Bangor Daily News was the first to report this story. What you’re reading here would likely not be made public without the efforts of professional journalists asking questions, interviewing sources and obtaining documents.
A Maine woman who alleged she was the victim of excessive force during a March 2024 arrest reached a settlement with two Maine State Police troopers.
Marie Searles, of Chelsea, sued Maine State Police trooper Hunter Belanger, alleging she was unlawfully arrested by him, during which she was slammed onto the hood of a cruiser, causing bruised ribs.
The lawsuit, filed October 2025 in U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor, also alleged there was a culture within Maine State Police that allows excessive force and unreasonable arrests. It also named Lt. Aaron Turcotte and said he failed to supervise and discipline Belanger.
Searles will receive $54,000 in the settlement for “alleged physical injuries and emotional distress,” according to the document obtained by the Bangor Daily News through a Freedom of Access Act request.
No one admitted liability in the settlement, according to the agreement signed Oct. 13. It was signed by Assistant Attorney General William Hagedorn on behalf of Belanger and Turcotte.
“Marie stood up to the Maine State Police and shined a much-needed light on its use of force practices,” her attorney Matthew Morgan said. “She is ready to move on from the suit and is happy to have reached this settlement.”
Turcotte, a spokesperson for Maine State Police, did not respond to a request for comment.
A dismissal of the lawsuit must be filed by Nov. 2.
Belanger had been previously accused of excessive force only two months before his interaction with Searles. The lawsuit alleged Maine State Police have a long-standing practice of not properly investigating cases of excessive force.
Another lawsuit alleging excessive force by state police is still pending. Justin Savage was arrested six days after Searles and his violent arrest was captured in dashcam footage.
It shows troopers tackling him to the ground and punching him in the face while he was handcuffed. That arrest and subsequent fall out was the subject of an award-winning series written by the BDN and the Maine Monitor.
Savage’s complaint was one of 33 excessive force complaints the agency received over the previous decade, none of which were sustained, an investigation by the media outlets found. Searles’ lawsuit cites that record as evidence that the agency has “created a culture of tacit approval of excessive force.”
Searles’ arrest came after Belanger responded to a vehicle stuck in the mud on Marie Lane in the Kennebec County town of Chelsea on March 10, 2024. A man wanted on multiple warrants lived at the address, and other homes used the same driveway, according to the lawsuit.
Searles was walking outside near Belanger’s cruiser when he asked her to speak with him and she walked away, the lawsuit said.
Belanger then “grabbed ahold of Searles, flipped her body up into the air, and slammed her body onto the ground,” the lawsuit said. He then pinned her neck to the ground with his knee, causing pain and bruising.
Searles was arrested for refusing to submit to arrest and Belanger then searched her body while she was at the front of the cruiser, according to the lawsuit. She tensed up and pulled away when Belanger was pat searching her.
“Belanger responded by grabbing Searles by her shoulders and slamming her body onto the hood of his cruiser,” the lawsuit said. “Searles’ ribs were slammed into the front of Trooper Belanger’s cruiser resulting in significant pain and bruising.”
Shortly after Searles’ arrest, Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney wrote a two-page letter to Maine State Police Capt. Jeff Love that called Belanger’s conduct “completely inappropriate.”
Maloney told the BDN in October 2025 that she considers the matter resolved.