Two victims of Anthony Lord’s July 2015 murderous rampage have claimed in a federal lawsuit that Maine State Police officers failed to protect them from Lord, who was sentenced last month to life in prison.
Brittany Irish, 23, of Bangor and her mother, Kimberly Irish, 57, of Benedicta, said in the complaint that both women told police Lord was dangerous and sought protection from him. Police allegedly refused, saying they did not have enough manpower to park a car at Kimberly Irish’s Benedicta home or to offer Brittany Irish and her children police protection.
The lawsuit claims the officers violated the Irishes’ civil rights by putting them in danger of violence.
The women are seeking unspecified damages.
At his sentencing Aug. 7 at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor, Lord, 37, of Crystal blamed his actions on the death of his infant son in May 2015.
Lord became enraged when police told him Brittany Irish had accused him of sexaully assaulting her a few days before the rampage, the complaint alleges.
Lord admitted to murdering Brittany Irish’s boyfriend, Kyle Hewitt, 22, of Bangor and Benedicta, and Kevin Tozier, 58, of Lee. He also pleaded guilty to shooting and wounding Clayton McCarthy, 57, and Carlton Eddy, 52, both of Benedicta, in addition to wounding Kimberly Irish, and assaulting Kary Mayo, 40, of Silver Ridge Township with a hammer.
In addition to those crimes, he burned Kimberly Irish’s barn, stole firearms from Mayo’s home and led police on a high-speed chase through two counties on July 16 and 17, 2015.
Lord was never charged with sexually assaulting Brittany Irish.
The Bangor Daily News does not identify alleged victims of sex crimes unless the victim agrees to be named. Brittany Irish held a press conference at her mother’s home in Benedicta a week after Lord was charged in the rampage and told reporters about the alleged sexual assault.
The Irishes’ attorney, David Van Dyke of Lewiston, filed an amended complaint Wednesday in U.S. District Court against detectives Jason Fowler and Micah Perkins and troopers John Darcy and Andrew Levesque.
The original complaint, filed in December 2015, did not name the officers but used the name John Doe as a placeholder until the names of the officers involved could be confirmed. A year ago, U.S. District Judge John Woodcock concluded that the officers could not be sued because they are public employees.
But the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston overruled Woodcock in early March. A three-judge panel told Woodcock that before he could dismiss the lawsuit, he had to determine if the officers violated Maine State Police practices when they declined to provide the women protection.
Filings in the case were stayed at the request of Assistant Attorney General Christopher Taub, who is defending the officers, until after Lord’s sentencing.
Taub declined Friday to comment on the case.
The women’s attorney said Friday in an email that the officers mistakenly declined the women protection.
“No one has a higher regard for the state police than I do,” Van Dyke said.
“But the defendant officers are human, and humans make mistakes. The mistakes made by the officers in July, 2015 caused avoidable and unnecessary death and mayhem. The [Irishes] are simply asking for fair and reasonable compensation.”
A trial date has not been set.
This story appears through a media sharing agreement with Bangor Daily News.