BANGOR – A Pakistani restaurant owner said he is again being harassed because of his nationality. He told police Thursday that a motorist drove by outside his downtown Bangor restaurant and yelled for him to return to his own country.
The incident was the latest in a series of incidents Noor Khan said he has had to endure in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Khan, a Muslim, said late last month that telephone calls, confrontations with pedestrians and catcalls from passing motorists have made him question the safety of his family and he has closed the restaurant early.
Khan could not be reached for comment Thursday, but his downtown Bangor restaurant was closed at 5:30 p.m., even though his hours are listed as 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays.
Bangor police Officer James Dearing said Khan reported that a man in his 20s in a green compact pickup truck drove around the block several times and yelled for him to “go back to your f…… country.”
The pickup truck had 4-by-4 rack on the top, of the type used to hold ladders or canoes, and there were American flags on each corner of the rack.
The incident was reported at 4:14 p.m. Dearing and Officer Steve Jordan searched the area but could not find the pickup truck. Police are expected to keep an eye out for the vehicle in an attempt to talk to the driver.
Khan said that in the past he has been reluctant to report the incidents, as he has to live in this community and was concerned about reprisals. One incident, however, drew the attention of state investigators who filed a civil rights complaint against a Bangor man accused of threatening Khan on Sept. 15.
Jeffrey Saulnier, 44, allegedly told a worker at the restaurant to “go back to where he came from” and threatened to kill Khan and others during a profanity-laced tirade. Saulnier’s anger apparently was sparked when his meal was not ready quickly enough, police said.
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