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Charges are dropped against black man found with drugs in his car after Maine cop 'racially profiled' him saying he 'looked like a thug' because he had dreadlocks and was 'wearing a wifebeater'

Criminal charges have been dropped against a black man found with drugs in his car after a Maine cop was accused of racially profiling him, saying he 'looked like a thug' because he had dreadlocks and was 'wearing a wifebeater'.  

The US Attorney's Office dismissed the criminal case against Terrel Walker of Orono last month after reviewing footage of Maine State Trooper John Darcy pulling him over for a traffic stop in Portland last August.

Darcy was heard making disparaging comments to another trooper about Walker's hair and clothes in the police cruiser audio, that is yet to be made public.

Maine State Police has launched an investigation into the incident and questions are now being asked about Darcy's history - and the record of the wider force - of pulling over and arresting black men.

Criminal charges have been dropped against a black man found with drugs in his car after a Maine cop was accused of racially profiling him, saying he 'looked like a thug' because he had dreadlocks and was 'wearing a wifebeater'. Terrel Walker of Orono after the arrest

Criminal charges have been dropped against a black man found with drugs in his car after a Maine cop was accused of racially profiling him, saying he 'looked like a thug' because he had dreadlocks and was 'wearing a wifebeater'. Terrel Walker of Orono after the arrest 

Darcy pulled Walker over on a traffic stop for driving in the middle lane of the three-lane Interstate 95 through York on August 15 last year.

Maine law requires drivers to stay in the right-hand lane unless passing other vehicles when on roads with speed limits higher than 65 mph.

Darcy is heard on the cruiser microphone telling another trooper Walker 'looks like a thug' as he pulled him over, according to transcripts in court documents, seen by the Portland Press Herald.   

'This guy kinda looks like a thug to be honest with you,' Darcy said, according to a transcript in a motion filed in the US District Court in Portland.

He said Walker, who was 28 at the time, looked 'like a thug' because 'he's wearing a wifebeater' and 'he's got dreads.' 

Darcy then said he is not racially profiling the man and doesn't care 'if someone's black or white' but cares about 'the way they seem'.

'I hate when people try to make it seem like that's what it is,' Darcy said in the audio. 

'I care about where people are from, and the way they seem… you know what I mean? Do they seem like they can be involved in drug dealing or gangs or something. I don't give a f*** if someone's black or white.' 

Darcy then approached Walker's car and smelled 'burnt marijuana' and saw a marijuana cigarette in the car ashtray, according to the affidavit. 

The trooper called for a K-9 unit and a search revealed cocaine and pills in Walker's car. 

Walker was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and holding a counterfeit drug for sale. 

He pleaded not guilty to the charges in December and the case was delayed due to the pandemic.

Walker's defense attorney Leonard Sharon filed five motions in July accusing Darcy of racially profiling his client.

The US Attorney's Office dismissed the criminal case against black man Terrel Walker of Orono last month after reviewing footage of Maine State Trooper John Darcy pulling him over for a traffic stop in Portland last August. Pictured: An unidentified state trooper in a file photo

The US Attorney's Office dismissed the criminal case against black man Terrel Walker of Orono last month after reviewing footage of Maine State Trooper John Darcy pulling him over for a traffic stop in Portland last August. Pictured: An unidentified state trooper in a file photo

'This court has the opportunity to close its courtroom to these prosecutions,' Sharon wrote. 

'Our courts should not dignify these prosecutions of black people who fall prey to racial profiling or any citizen who has been unfairly profiled because of their hairstyle and clothing. The price our country pays for this behavior has proven excessive.' 

One motion called for the suppression of evidence from the encounter and another to dismiss the case for egregious police misconduct.

In September, Assistant US Attorney Meghan Connolly filed a motion to dismiss the charges against Walker saying it would be in 'the best interests of justice'. 

A judge then dropped the charges on September 22. 

Walker's attorney said he believes the decision was based on the recording showing his client being racially profiled by the trooper.  

'I think they decided to take the high road and not to advocate that this type of behavior should be tolerated,' he told the Herald. 

Maine State Police have now launched an internal investigation into Darcy's actions during the traffic stop. 

'The act of racial profiling by law enforcement is illegal, and the Maine State Police do not condone it in any way, shape, or form,' Maine State Police Col. John Cote said in a statement to DailyMail.com. 

'The traffic stop in question is under internal review by the Maine State Police as we strive to serve and protect our state and citizens with honor, integrity, and fidelity to law in all we do.' 

It has also emerged that Darcy has a history of pulling over black people as several attorneys have raised questions over whether the trooper and the wider force is unfairly targeting ethnic minorities. 

In September 2019, Darcy pulled over another black man Anthony Jones on a traffic stop on the Maine Turnpike over an expired inspection sticker, according to court records. 

Jones' attorney Peter Rodway said Darcy did not question him about the sticker but asked him and his passenger about their travels and called a K-9 unit after learning they had prior drug convictions.

Maine State Police has launched an investigation into the incident and questions are now being asked about Darcy's history - and the record of the wider force - of pulling over and arresting black men. Pictured the drugs seized from Walker's car

Maine State Police has launched an investigation into the incident and questions are now being asked about Darcy's history - and the record of the wider force - of pulling over and arresting black men. Pictured the drugs seized from Walker's car

A search of Jones's car uncovered drugs and he was charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine.  

Rodway filed several motions including one asking for Darcy's records for pulling people over including the race or ethnicity of the drivers. 

'There was simply no reasonable suspicion that anything illegal was afoot that could justify the Trooper requiring Mr. Jones to step out of his vehicle,' Rodway wrote, reported the Herald. 

'Accordingly, this case seemingly involves an instance of racial profiling.' 

He continued: 'Thus, the issue is whether the Trooper orders every person that he stops, regardless of race, out of the car, and whether he detains every person that he stops for a prolonged period of time, while he waits for a drug dog to show up.' 

'Or is it only the young African-American motorists that are subjected to such treatment by this Trooper?'

The attorney pointed to Walker's case and another case where Darcy pulled over another African-American driver - a case that was thrown out last year. 

Another attorney Joe Mekonis, who represented the latter black man, told the Herald he is handling two other cases involving Darcy including one involving another black man. 

DailyMail.com reached out to Maine State Troopers for comment over their review of Walker's arrest and was told the Maine State Police routinely reviews troopers’ traffic stops 'in efforts to improve performance'. 

Other members of the Maine State Troopers have also been accused of racial profiling in the past.

In 2017, Troopers Richard Burke and Jay Cooley were caught on camera calling Mario Ernesto Garcia-Zavala and his passengers, who all spoke Spanish, 'disgusting' and 'sketchy as hell'. 

Garcia-Zavala was then convicted of illegally re-entering the US. 

Concerns of racial profiling among troopers come amid escalating tensions between law enforcement and African-American communities across America.  

Thousands have taken to the streets nationwide demanding justice and calling for an end to police brutality and racism since Memorial Day when black man George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis cop who knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes until he passed out and died.  

Protests in LA over the death of Jonathan Price. Concerns of racial profiling among troopers come amid escalating tensions between law enforcement and African-American communities across America

Protests in LA over the death of Jonathan Price. Concerns of racial profiling among troopers come amid escalating tensions between law enforcement and African-American communities across America

A protest in New York last month. Thousands have taken to the streets nationwide demanding justice and calling for an end to police brutality and racism since George Floyd's death

A protest in New York last month. Thousands have taken to the streets nationwide demanding justice and calling for an end to police brutality and racism since George Floyd's death 

Floyd's death reignited outrage over the death of EMT Breonna Taylor, 26, who was shot six times in March when three plain clothes officers performed a botched raid at her Louisville apartment. 

Last month, a grand jury decided not to bring any charges against the three cops involved in her death, with only one officer charged in connection to the incident - not for Taylor's death but for wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighboring apartment. 

In June, unarmed father Rayshard Brooks was shot dead while he ran from cops in the drive-thru of a Wendy's restaurant in Atlanta.  

Then, in August, Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by a white cop in front of his three young children, leaving the father-of-six paralyzed from the waist down.       

In early September, footage was released by the family of Daniel Prude, 41, showing cops in Rochester, New York, putting a spit hood over his face and pushing his face into the ground for two minutes until he passed out and died on March 23.  

The Monroe County medical examiner listed the manner of death as homicide caused by 'complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint' but no charges have been brought against any of the cops.     

On Saturday, Texas cop Shaun David Lucas, 22, shot dead city worker Jonathan Price, 31, outside a gas station in Wolfe City after the black man was reportedly trying to break up a domestic incident between a man and a woman.  

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