The town of Wiscasset and its police department may face a $1.5 million suit over an allegation one of the town’s police officers illegally arrested a driver in August 2023.
Garry Stewart, of Boothbay Harbor, made notice of claim earlier this month against the town’s select board and police department. No case has been filed as of press time.
Wiscasset Town Manager Dennis Simmons said Tuesday, Feb. 13, Wiscasset’s insurer, the Maine Municipal Association, is reviewing the complaint and the police report. He declined to comment further, but confirmed the officer in question is currently an active employee.
Stewart’s attorney Richard Elliott, of the Boothbay Harbor firm Elliott & Elliott, said he plans to file in Lincoln County Superior Court soon. By state law, a case can be filed within two years of notice being served.
The notice alleges Wiscasset Police Officer Nathan Willhoite pulled Stewart over on Birch Point Road around 10 p.m. on Aug. 12, 2023. According to the document, Willhoite then asked if Stewart had been drinking and said Stewart was lying when Stewart answered he had two drinks three to five hours earlier.
When Stewart said he and his male passenger were on a date, Willhoite allegedly asked if money had changed hands.
During a field sobriety test, Wilhoitte allegedly told Stewart he would be arrested and go to jail; Willhoite subsequently arrested Stewart. When searching the car, Willhoite found an envelope of small bills and asked what they were for. Stewart said they were for his business, to which the claim alleges Willhoite replied, “What’s your business, prostitution?”
Stewart’s passenger was left on the side of the road without a ride, according to the claim, and his car was left unlocked with valuables inside and the keys on the front seat before it was towed.
When he was booked at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, Stewart’s breath test returned a 0.01 blood alcohol level. The claim alleges this test result makes Stewart’s arrest a violation of his civil rights because he could not have failed the field test at that level of intoxication.
“The officer intentionally harassed, humiliated and violated Mr. Stewart’s constitutional rights because he is gay and the officer took offense,” the notice states.
Alleging illegal arrest and detention, the claim states Stewart suffered emotional distress, financial loss, damage to his reputation, and violation of his constitutional rights.
Stewart seeks $1.5 million in damages.
The notice includes as evidence a screenshot of online search results for Willhoite’s name, which returns newspaper articles covering a suit from his previous employment in Augusta. In 2021, Kennebec County settled an excessive force lawsuit brought against it in federal court for $30,000 over alleged behavior toward an inmate when Willhoite was a guard at the Kennebec County Correctional Facility two years earlier.
That complaint alleged Willhoite pepper-sprayed an inmate in the face and physically assaulted him “despite the absence of any physical danger and the presence of multiple other corrections officers.”
According to coverage from the Portland Press Herald, Willhoite resigned and no disciplinary action was taken against him by his employer.
Willhoite has been employed in Wiscasset since 2020, according to Chief Larry Hesseltine.
“Officer Willhoite denied those accusations and told me some of the alleged accusations against him took place in 2018 when he wasn’t employed by Kennebec County,” Hesseltine said by email Feb. 20. “Officer Willhoite was never found to have committed the alleged misconduct and was never disciplined in any way by Kennebec County.”
Hesseltine said the department’s standard hiring process includes a background investigation, an interview, checking references, a polygraph test, and a psychological evaluation.
Simmons said any developments in the case will be handled through the town’s insurer.
