BREAKING NEWS: Hundreds of citizens want police officer removed in Southwest Harbor

SOUTHWEST HARBOR, June 29, 2023 - Citizens here and in Machias, from which he was fired in 2011, launched multiple efforts on social media yesterday to seek the removal of police officer Richard Strout, who was hired this week with a trail of accusations and lawsuits for assaulting and groping women during arrests and who sued his former employer for wrongful termination.

As of early this morning more than 800 signatures appeared on this petition seeking his removal. On the Southwest Harbor Police Department Facebook page, the comments increased to more than 70 after the town turned them back on yesterday, after being criticized for disabling them.

Another FB page Quietside Concerns aired more protests to Strout’s hire.

RICHARD STROUT

“It is negligent and disrespectful for the town board to allow such a dangerous and high risk individual to have authority over the safety of the hard working adults and children who need protection now more then ever in this area,” wrote one FB poster.

Another wrote, “Feeling the need to mention that you performed a psych evaluation for this particular hire might be a red flag that you made a dangerous mistake. Your new hire is a ticking time bomb.”

The FB poster was referring to a comment from Police Chief John Hall, who stated,

“To ensure the integrity of our profession with all new hires an exhaustive background check, along with a polygraph and psychological were conducted. The results cleared his name and confirmed that we had found an excellent officer. Thank you Officer Strout for coming to our town.

“Officer Strout comes to us with many years of experience. While in Machias he received numerous commendations for outstanding work from the community and other agencies. He graduated the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in 2003
He left law enforcement in 2011 and while his departure was publicly aired, he overcame the negativity and has been able return to the profession he loves.”

Strout was introduced to the select board Tuesday night. Chair Carolyn Ball declined to say whether any members voiced concern about Strout in a previous executive session when members were briefed by Hall about his hire.

Yesterday morning, resident Raney Bench, who represented the views of many on social media, sent this to Hall:

“I'm writing to express my dismay to learn about the new hire to our town's police force, officer Strout. To so blatantly dismiss allegations of sexual assault and violence by so many women and hire this person on the merits of a polygraph test and psychological evaluation, makes me concerned that the department as a whole does not prioritize or value the safety of women in our community, nor do you trust women when they share stories of abuse.

“This issue extends beyond residents of Southwest Harbor to any woman visiting our community who might attract his attention, thereby making herself vulnerable. Your decision to hire officer Strout despite his record makes me feel less safe. I'm now running through a list of young women I feel need to be warned to stay away from him, who need to be taught personal safety techniques in case they have an interaction with him. It's unbelievable to me that this is happening in our small community, that we would be deliberately put at risk in the hands of a man accused multiple times of violating women's safety.

“I am asking you to please reconsider this decision, and to put the health and safety of the women in our community first and foremost in your mind and among your priorities.”

The Islander was the first to report on Hall’s defense of his hire.

The Bangor Daily News reported Hall as saying he was aware, before he subjected Strout to background checks and exams, that Strout had been fired in Machias and then had sued the town, and that he had been sued by women he had arrested.

“He told all of this to me before he handed me an application,” Hall said. “I feel that Officer Strout is not the person that he was accused of being 10 years ago.”

Strout was fired by Machias in 2011 after the town required him to take a psychological exam, the BDN reported. The psychologist who conducted the exam later told Machias officials that Strout could not be certified “as being fit for duty for typical, armed, minimally supervised law enforcement work,” according to federal court documents.

He filed a federal lawsuit against Machias the following year and later received a $50,000 settlement from the town.

The following year Strout was sued, along with other Machias officials, in three separate federal lawsuits filed by different women who accused him of assaulting and inappropriately touching them while placing them under arrest.

All three lawsuits filed by the woman were dismissed in 2014 — two by agreement with the women involved and one because the plaintiff could not find a new attorney and stopped communicating with court officials. It is not clear if the two women who agreed to dismissals received any monetary settlement with the town.

The QSJ reported in September 2021 that the newly hired town manager here was convicted of assaulting his wife in front of minors in 2008. He withdrew a week later.

Lucie Nolden, the QSJ’s new intern, contributed to this article