A Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office deputy drove a homeless man from Glenburn to downtown Bangor last month, where the man is accused of then going on a crime spree.
The deputy dropped Ryan Sawyer, 38, off on Oct. 5 on Franklin Street despite knowing he was homeless and that he was barred from entering the city’s homeless shelter. Over the next two days, he allegedly committed six different crimes in Bangor and has been held in the Penobscot County Jail since.
Sawyer’s case is an example of how officers with the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office and other municipal police departments transport homeless people from nearby towns to Bangor, even if they have no plan for where to go when they get here. But it’s a difficult trend to quantify, as no departments track how often this happens.
While such moves can strain Bangor’s limited resources, one expert said it is still the most compassionate option available.
The sheriff’s office was first called to check on Sawyer while he was walking with his pants down on Pushaw Road in Glenburn around 10 p.m., according to a police report obtained by the Bangor Daily News through a Freedom of Access Act request.
Penobscot County Deputy Garrett Carlson requested EMS evaluate Sawyer because he was not able to form sentences, according to the report. Medics found Sawyer was able to answer questions and was cognizant.
Sawyer, who was from Glenburn, didn’t have a place to live and was dressed inappropriately for the cold weather, the report said.
Another deputy, who drove Sawyer to Bangor, said they didn’t feel comfortable leaving the man on the side of the road. The deputy didn’t sign the report with their full name.
Sawyer is barred from the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter due to a no trespassing order from the Bangor Police Department, so he could not be brought there, the report said. The police report later says he is banned from “the area shelters.”
Sawyer told the deputy he wanted to be taken to Brewer, but the deputy drove him to the sheriff’s office on Franklin Street and pointed him in the direction of the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge, the report said.
Penobscot County Sheriff Troy Morton and Chief Deputy John Knappe did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Bangor Police Chief Mark Hathaway declined an interview. Sgt. Jeremy Brock, the department’s spokesperson, said it faces significant challenges from the large number of homeless people in the city.
“Our teams continue to manage the current population as effectively as possible while preparing for the demands anticipated with the arrival of an incoming population,” Brock said.
With so few options available to police in such situations, it may have been the best that could be done at the time, said Katie Spencer White, the co-chair of the Maine Statewide Homeless Council and CEO of the Mid-Maine Homeless shelter.
“It sounds like this was a compassionate response,” she said.
Sawyer couldn’t be taken into protective custody for mental health, the report said. Maine law has strict requirements for such a step, including that the person needs to pose a “likelihood of serious harm.”
There are more support resources in service center cities, Spencer White said. But those communities are struggling with the growing homeless population.
People come to Bangor for services including the sober houses, methadone clinics, emergency rooms and psychiatric hospitals, Hathaway said during an Oct. 5 Bangor City Council Government Operations Committee meeting. Surrounding cities and towns don’t have any of those resources.
“I think everybody understands that we’re caring for a large chunk of the state’s most vulnerable people, some of the most sick,” Hathaway said.
Many in Bangor point to substance use as the biggest problem facing homeless people here, but their mental health is a greater struggle, he said.
Homeless people being driven into Bangor is a regular occurrence because neighboring towns don’t have shelters or services, Bangor Area Homeless Shelter Director Boyd Kronholm said. Some of the people who have been dropped off at the shelter didn’t even know it existed, he added.
The sheriff’s office usually checks to see if the shelter has any beds open before driving someone there, Kronholm said. Beds are rarely available.
Banning someone from the shelter for an extended period of time is a last resort, Kronholm said. He couldn’t speak to Sawyer’s case, but said a long-term ban usually happens if someone puts others in danger.
There are two overnight warming centers opening Nov. 15 at Brick Church and Mansion Church, Kronholm said. The city also runs a street outreach team that offers some services.
Two days after Sawyer was dropped off in Bangor, he was arrested and charged with aggravated criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, terrorizing and violating his conditions of release.
He allegedly broke windows at a Hammond Street business, threw apples at passing cars and walked down a street screaming, police said.
“The idea that your police officers are not addressing these issues — we’re just overwhelmed,” Hathaway said at the Oct. 5 meeting. “If every community took care of the most vulnerable, we might not be having this conversation right now.”