Long story – Augusta, ME cop attempted to gaslight me

Throughout most of the 2023, my life was a living hell. In December, 2022, I was wrongly arrested for Domestic Violence Assault, class C Felony. Got out via cash bail, and then proceeded to lose my apartment of 4 years. So…I spent the majority of 2023 on Bail, homeless, once again an addict, merely surviving on the streets of Augusta, Maine. There was one particular incident with a cop that stands out….

Across the street from the local bodega, Country Farm (our ones-stop-addiction-shop) lies an unused basketball court, now primarily occupied by the growing homeless community. A couple of friends of mine had set up two small tents there, and overnight I stored some of my belongings there; I had some stimulants and stayed awake, wandering around all night.

Around 7:30-7:45am, I returned there to collect my stuff and change clothes. I changed out of my blue shorts into camouflage shorts, as well as my shirt. Took me probably….4 minutes. Then, two uniformed officers abruptly showed up. One of them appeared to be a rookie, while the other had a very intense demeanor.

“Before you ask, these aren’t my tents, sir. They belong to ______ and ______. I just stashed my stuff here overnight.” I said.

“I heard you were just out there asking for some down?” (“down” is the local slang term for fentanyl) I said No (honestly). “Hey, it’s okay, I’m not judging. We know you were asking for down, just tell us.” I replied with conviction “I have before, sir, but no, not today I didn’t.” And this is where he tied to gaslight me. “You sure? ‘Cause we heard that a man wearing camouflage shorts was just seeking some.” I laughed. “Dude, I literally just changed into these shorts minutes before you arrived.

Next, he asked how long since I had been drinking. Amazingly, No consumption of alcohol was not part of my bail conditions. He commented on the collection of empty beer cans in the area. “About five hours,” I said. He began a spiel about me violating bail, and was incredulous about what I had said, so he called up HQ to confirm. He had even put his hand to his cuffs for a sec. THEN, once that was confirmed, he heard the ridiculous condition that I must live at my mom’s in another town, and tried to get me on that. I said “Where I am required to live is not where I am standing right now. I am not on home confinement, and I can live one place and still hang out somewhere else.

“Well, consider yourself lucky; I’m going to give you a break this time. Make sure you return to your mom’s soon.” And I was finally un-detained.

Sorry for the wall of text…just wanted to finally vent about that BS incident.