Witness identifies Franklin man as suspect in possible hate crime

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An arrest warrant has been issued in Hancock County for a suspect identified in a weekend assault that appears to be motivated by alcohol and prejudice.

A witness identified Robert A. Dow, 59, of Franklin as the man who shouted racial slurs and then kicked a 21-year-old black woman Saturday night in Hancock.

“We’ve been to his house numerous times, and we’re scouring the area,” Maine State Police Trooper Cliff Peterson said Tuesday afternoon. “With a small town like Franklin, word gets around quickly, so I’m sure he knows we’re looking for him.”

The warrant charges Dow with assault, a Class D misdemeanor, and disorderly conduct, a Class E misdemeanor, and his actions also are being reviewed as a hate crime by the Maine Attorney General’s Office.

“If we feel a case is here, we will file an injunction,” Thomas Harnett, assistant attorney general for civil rights education and enforcement, said Tuesday from his office in Augusta. “To do that, we need conduct and bias, and here we have allegations of both.”

The alleged incident took place sometime before 8 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of the Tideway Market on U.S. Route 1 in Hancock.

The woman told police that when she pulled into the parking area she noticed a red pickup truck with several men standing around drinking beer.

For no obvious reason, one of the men began shouting “white power” and racial epithets toward the woman, according to her statement.

The man, who police now believe was Dow, then threw a half-full can of beer toward an open window of the woman’s car. It struck her on the right triceps.

Dow then approached her vehicle, opened the door and kicked the woman in the stomach, according to police.

The woman, who is seven months pregnant, was able to shut the door and drive away. She went to Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth where she was checked for injuries.

She told police that she experienced contractions briefly, but otherwise was not harmed, nor was her fetus.

Hancock County District Attorney Michael Povich called the incident “absolutely objectionable.”

“This is not something you ever want to see,” Povich said Tuesday from his office in Ellsworth. “He could have caused serious bodily injury to this woman and her baby. She’s fortunate she wasn’t hurt.”

While the woman could not identify her attacker, a passenger in her car told police the man was Dow.

The woman told police that the other men in the parking lot did not play a role in the incident, but they did laugh the entire time.

“I think it shows poor taste to see something like that and not step in,” Trooper Peterson said.

None of the other men is expected to be charged, he said.

According to the most recent statistics available about hate crimes in Maine collected by the FBI, 68 incidents were reported in 2004. Twenty-four of those were racially motivated.

Harnett said those numbers are misleading because not all police agencies report their statistics. He did say that his office receives more than 250 referrals each year and moves forward with about 15 to 25 injunctions.

“Whatever the numbers, this happens too often,” Harnett said. “All of the cases are sad, and we seem to have had a run of them recently.”

Povich, who has been a prosecutor in Hancock County for more than 30 years, said changes in the demographic makeup here and in Maine in general may play a part.

“The breakdown of the city has changed in the last several years, and we’re seeing more and more people of different races and cultures,” Povich said. “Anytime you have that, there is always the potential for hate crimes.”

Kobutsu Malone, a Buddhist priest who lives in Sedgwick, called the incident appalling but not surprising.

“This does not surprise me at all. I’ve seen the racist Ku Klux Klan mentality in every state, Maine included,” he said. “Every time you see a Stars and Bars flag, you’re seeing a racial epithet. These yahoos think it’s cool, but this is a highly offensive, deeply profound insult to people of color.”

James Varner, president of the Greater Bangor Area NAACP, held a news conference Tuesday afternoon in Bangor to speak about what he called a “sickening act.”

“This is especially hard-hitting, as a black man, but also as a father with a daughter who is pregnant,” he said after the conference. “That could have been my daughter.”

Varner said he has planned a rally for Sunday, Sept. 17, in Hancock with a group of concerned local residents.

“We need to do more to find out why this individual was so full of hate,” he said.

Police said the best thing that can happen now is for Dow to turn himself in.

“He has a lot of connections to the area, and we have a hunch that he’s just hiding out,” Trooper Peterson said.

“We know that there were other witnesses who haven’t come forward because they might fear this individual, but he’s nothing more than a schoolyard bully.”

Anyone with information about Dow’s whereabouts is asked to call the Maine State Police at 1-800-432-7381.