Traffic arrest leads to complaint of racial profiling

What began as a routine traffic stop on Onset Avenue this month has brought forth new allegations of police misconduct against residents of Cape Verdean descent in Wareham.

The latest allegations were made at last week's selectmen's meeting, where 52-year-old Paul Andrade claimed he was a victim of racial profiling when an officer pulled him over on Sept. 6 and sprayed him in the face with pepper spray.

Police Chief Thomas A. Joyce denied the allegations and defended the officer's actions.

Andrade's complaint comes about two months after Wareham officers were accused of using excessive force while arresting a 15-year-old Cape Verdean girl and her two younger brothers in July. An internal police investigation found the allegations couldn't be substantiated, and the incident is being reviewed by the district attorney's office.

Andrade shared his story with the selectmen during the public comment period of their meeting Sept. 9. His complaint caught the selectmen off guard because it wasn't a scheduled agenda item, according to chairman James L. Potter. After hearing Andrade's allegations, the selectmen did not vote to take any specific action, said Potter.

"It wasn't the right format for it. You only got one side of the story," said Potter.

According to police, Officer Charles Pillsbury stopped Andrade on Onset Avenue because he made a turn without using his turn signal. Andrade pulled over, got out of the car, and approached Pillsbury in the police cruiser, according to police. Andrade refused to comply with the officer's requests to return to his vehicle and provide his license and registration, according to police. A scuffle ensued, and Pillsbury used pepper spray to subdue Andrade.

Andrade was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, refusing to produce his license and registration, two counts of threatening to commit a crime, as well as the original violation: failing to use his turn signal. The car was towed because the passenger, Andrade's brother, didn't have a driver's license, according to police.

In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Andrade offered a different version of events.

He said the cruiser stopped and let him pass, then followed him until he turned into a parking lot. "I feel I was unfairly targeted," said Andrade. "I watched [him] follow me. I feel it was racially motivated."

Andrade said he was already out of his car and standing in the parking lot when the officer turned on the cruiser lights. Andrade said he gave the officer his license and registration, and it was never returned to him.

The two dogs that were riding in the car with Andrade were taken to the pound in Dartmouth, his car was towed, and he had to pay to get a new registration, "all for not using my blinker," he said.

Andrade said he showed selectmen a photo of what his face looked like after the incident. "My eyes were swollen shut," he said. "I got a whole can of mace in my eyes, my nose, my throat."

Andrade said he won't file a formal complaint until he speaks with his lawyer. "As far as I'm concerned, I would like to see that they're reprimanded and take classes on how to treat people and show some respect to the Cape Verdean community," he said.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 19, according to the Wareham District Court clerk's office.

The police chief said he stood by Pillsbury's actions, because he had a legitimate reason to stop the vehicle and hadn't seen the color of Andrade's skin until he pulled over the vehicle.

"Mr. Andrade never came in and filed a [formal] complaint," Joyce said in a telephone interview Monday. "His allegations are preposterous. The officer certainly wasn't profiling anybody."

Joyce said Andrade has a history of run-ins with the police. Joyce also criticized the selectmen for making "defamatory comments" against Pillsbury during the public meeting, without hearing the officer's side of the story.

Meanwhile, state and federal investigators have been called in to address allegations that Wareham police officers used excessive force when they arrested three Cape Verdean teenagers in Onset this summer.

Those allegations stem from a July 10 incident in Onset Center, where police arrested a 12-year-old boy who allegedly was shouting obscenities at another group of youths. According to police, the boy's 14-year-old brother and 15-year-old sister tried to intervene on behalf of their younger brother. All three siblings were arrested by police, and a witness filed a complaint alleging that police used excessive force when they arrested the teens.

The Police Department's internal probe turned out to be inconclusive.

On July 31, Joyce issued a press release stating that "there were varying perceptions of what took place" and that the investigator couldn't substantiate the allegations.

The Board of Selectmen then voted to ask state officials to conduct an independent review of the matter, which was has since been referred to the Bristol County district attorney's office.

"It's an ongoing investigation," said Gregg Miliote, spokesman for the district attorney's office. "There's a trooper from our office assigned to that case. I can't really comment further than that, because we don't comment on pending investigations."

Joyce said the July incident started as "a 12-year-old kid causing a problem," and the arrests "had nothing to do with race at all.

"My officers were doing their job, and they did nothing wrong," said Joyce. "When the State Police get done looking at this matter, I'm confident they'll come to the same conclusion."

Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com.