Good evening. I will call the Tuesday, July 21, 2026, city council meeting to order.
All council members are present. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
Thank you.
This will be an irregular meeting this evening. I want to thank you all for joining us.
Yesterday marked exactly one week since the fatal shooting of Johann Sebastian Duran Guerrero.
I met with Johann's beloved partner, Carolina, and his sister, Daniella, at the site of Johann's death and memorial yesterday where they grieved this unimaginable loss.
They asked for justice. Justice for the senseless killing of Johann was a father, a son, a brother, and a beloved partner.
And I'll ask that we please stand for a moment of silence.
Thank you.
On the morning of July 13th, our neighbor, Johann Sebastian Duran Guerrero, left his home
to go to work.
He pulled out of his own driveway, his car, the way he had on so many ordinary mornings.
He never came home.
I'd like to say his name again, so it's in this room and in this record.
Johann Sebastian Duran Guerrero.
Johann's life was not so different from yours or mine.
He lived here.
He worked hard to make sure the people he loved had what they needed.
He held down multiple jobs, all of them above board.
He and his daughter played in the same parks that our children's play in.
Johann spent many afternoons with his daughter, Dulce,
at the new playground of the J. Richard Martin Community Center.
laughing and playing like so many parents do with their own kids.
He shopped in the same stores we shop in.
He walked the same streets that we walk every day.
He brushed his daughter's teeth at night, held her hand until she fell asleep.
He was, by every account, the devoted father.
Our own government had reviewed his paperwork, approved it,
given him a permit to work, and given him a social security number.
Our government knew exactly who he was, and still one of its agents shot and killed him
on a peaceful summer morning on a Vettiford Street with no camera recording what happened.
I'd like to be clear about why we're here tonight, because I don't want anyone to mistake it.
We're not here because of where Johann was born.
We're not here to make a political point.
We're here because Johann was a member of this community,
our community.
And because of what we were doing tonight for him,
what we were asking for him,
we would ask for any person who died in this way
on the streets of Bedouford.
Anyone.
That's what it means to be a community.
When one of us is taken like this,
we do not look away.
We do not stay quiet.
it. So what are we asking for? Two simple things, justice and truth.
The truth of what happened
to Johann that morning, a full, honest, transparent accounting with nothing hidden and no one
shielded from it. And justice for Johann, for Carolina and for Dulce and Daniella.
And this grief that they feel transcends Bideford. Tonight and across Maine, their
immigrant families carrying a fear that the rest of us are not asked to carry, a fear
of driving to work, of taking their children to the park, that fear is paralyzing.
And in our city, we will not pretend otherwise, we'll not look past the people who have to
live with it.
So to our immigrant neighbors, you belong here, you are part of who Bideford is, and
you should not have to carry this weight alone.
And you are not alone.
I want to recognize some of the organizations that have stood with Johann's family from
the very first days, the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition, and present a Maine who are doing
the difficult, deeply human work of supporting this family and this community through a
grief that never should have been theirs to bear.
The city is grateful for you and I stand with you.
Carolina, Dulce, Daniela, and Johann's friends and family, I promise you that
I see you, our city grieves with you, and our city will not let Johann's name be forgotten
or his death be treated as one more cost of a broken system because we cannot allow the
death to become acceptable collateral for enforcement.
And justice for Johann.
When I spoke with Carolina, what she asked for was remarkably simple.
She wants justice for what she described as an unjust and senseless killing.
She wants the truth about what happened that morning.
Every family deserves those answers.
And the greatest tribute we can offer Johann is not simply to remember his life,
but to pursue the truth about how it ended and ensure his family is not left to carry this burden alone.
So I ask you to hold Johann's family in your thoughts.
I will now read the following proclamation into the official record.
demanding justice and accountability for the fatal shooting of Johann Sebastian
Duran Guerrero and calling for humane immigration reform. Whereas Johann
Sebastian Duran Guerrero was a resident of Bideford and whereas Johann had
submitted an application to the United States citizenship and immigration
services for permission to work which was reviewed and approved and whereas
the Department of Homeland Security had issued Johann an employment
authorization document and whereas the United States government had issued
a Social Security number.
And whereas, because Johann was following correct procedures,
the United States government knew who he was, knew where he lived,
had authorized him to work, knew he was working multiple jobs to provide for his family,
and knew he was paying state and federal taxes as a result of his employment.
And whereas, the same federal government that reviewed his application,
documented his presence, issued him a federal work permit,
and gave him a Social Security number,
had one of its agents shoot and kill Johann Sebastian Duran Guerrero on July 13,
2026 in the streets of Bideford, Maine.
And whereas, Johann's violent and senseless death has caused a measurable grief for Carolina,
who has lost her life partner and the father of her young daughter,
for Dulce, who must now grow up without her father,
and for Johann's family, friends, loved ones, and the entire Bideford community.
And whereas the circumstances that led to Johann's death at the hands of the United States
government require a thorough, impartial, independent and transparent investigation with the full involvement
and cooperation of main law enforcement authorities and all relevant evidence, including recordings,
communications, reports, dispatch information, physical evidence, personnel records, training
materials and other documentation must be preserved and disclosed to the fullest extent
permitted by law.
And whereas the BDF Police Department employs only highly trained officers and equips its
officers with body worn cameras because this fundamental public safety and accountability
tool is simple, reasonable, and so easily achievable.
And whereas the enforcement agents of the United States government fell far short
of the professional standards routinely upheld
by local police departments throughout Maine,
including unrelenting attention to safety,
restrained use of force, and deescalation training.
And that this failure by agents of the United States
government to meet these basic standards
led to the senseless use of deadly force on
Bitterford streets by an agent not equipped
with a body-worn camera resulting in an unrecorded
death that further destroys the public's faith
in the transparency, integrity, and accountability
of federal immigration enforcement.
And whereas Bideford is widely acknowledged throughout the United States
as a community built by generations of immigrants,
and to this day remains a city where people from many backgrounds
have found opportunity, belonging, and a place to call home.
And every person in Maine is entitled to dignity,
safety, due process, and equal protection under the law,
and the fundamental right to be treated humanely.
Now, therefore, I, Liam LaFountain, Mayor of the City of Bideford, do hereby proclaim and resolve to do everything within the city's lawful authority and available resources to support Carolina Rojas Alvarez and her daughter Dulce during this time of profound grief, despair, uncertainty and need.
call for a thorough and partial independent and transparent investigation into Johann's death,
conducted with the full involvement and cooperation of main law enforcement,
and for the United States government to cease its painfully reckless and deadly enforcement activities in Bideford,
demand that Congress and the executive branch reform the nation's decade-old broken and inhumane immigration system,
system, a system that has separated families, subjected people, including children, to prolonged
and degrading detention, denied meaningful due process, and caused immeasurable suffering
and preventable death, and replace it with a just and humane system grounded in dignity,
family unity, accountability, respect for human life, and bring an end to immigration
enforcement that operates without accountability and without regard for human life. Refuse
to accept the death of any member of this community as acceptable collateral for immigration
enforcement in Bideford or any community, and reaffirm that all people who live in Bideford
are an essential part of Bideford's identity, history, strength, and future, and that every
person who lives, works, studies, worships, or raises a family in this city deserves
to feel safe and to be treated with such dignity.
Thank you.
Now,
as we do at many council meetings, we allow for public comment addressing the council.
I understand there are a lot of folks interested in speaking tonight on such a topic as we have in front of us.
I do want to remind folks of the rules for such communication with the council, which I will read here.
City of Bideford's elected representatives welcome the public input.
We also recognize that many issues beyond the city, such as state and national issues, affect the city of Bideford and its citizens.
We understand and appreciate that there are many diverse and different opinions held by our citizens.
However, the city will not tolerate any comment that is hateful, exhibits intolerance for any group or groups of people,
contains derogatory characterizations of any group or groups of people, contains profanity or otherwise exceeds the boundaries of common decency.
Generally, the purpose of public participation at council meetings is to allow Bideford's
residents to express their opinions on issues that are within the mayor and council's jurisdiction,
and comments should be germane to matters over which the city may act.
However, the fatal shooting of Johann Sebastian Duran Guerrero occurred within the city
of Bideford.
Without any involvement of the Bideford Police Department or any city officials, we recognize
that this fatal shooting by an agent of immigration and customer's enforcement
creates the need for citizens to express their feelings.
Please note that the rules of the City Council, Rule 3, Q6,
the presiding officer may limit or cut off any commentary that we determine is not germane
or that is discourteous, slanderous, abusive, or not in accord with good order or decorum.
Thank you for your understanding.
At this time, if there are any folks who would like to provide public comment,
there is a three-minute limit.
We have a timer, our city clerk, police award who'll be providing that timer and a warning for when those three minutes are up.
And if you, when you could come up to the podium, state your full name.
And if you are resident of Bitterford, you can state your award, otherwise the city in which you reside.
Thank you.
All righty.
My name is Kelsey Cummings.
I am a renter.
I'm a business owner right on Main Street.
And I live on health.
I have been emailing everyone with a government position or title since January. I have met with multiple mayors in November.
My business owners haven't been able to open. We had an underground grocery system. It's not cute to do that. It's dangerous.
I don't understand why that wasn't the trigger and why that wasn't serious enough where someone had to lose their life.
Our community has stepped up too much. We have been put on too much construction, taxes, unhoused situation, city manager, new mayors. It has been too much. You are asking too much of us.
You all need to expect more of these people. If they can't do anything, then we're out of luck. Then we should just go home now.
If there's nothing that these people can do, then what's the point of all of this? Why are we here?
Please look around the room for one second, please.
This is not representative of Bitterford.
We are diverse.
Asian, black, Muslim, white, old. We are the oldest downtown with the youngest median age.
We cannot afford to be here. We are losing money.
Thank you. People ask me to step up. I am here for you. I will always be here for
you and I will step up and I am gonna keep fighting because if not then what's
the point? Thank you.
Hi my name is Amy Kearns and I live in Ward 5 and I'm just
gonna read so it's easier I'm a little intimidated. We don't and we shouldn't
have to choose a political side to want what is best for our people and our
community. Transparency, accountability, and compassion are not partisan values. They are
community values. I don't pretend to have all the answers. What I do know is that our children
are watching. They are learning from how we respond in a moment of crisis, how we treat
one another when emotions run high and whether we choose understanding over division. They
deserve the very best of all of us. This community has faced their adversity before, but nothing
could have fully prepared us for what we experienced this past week. The grief and uncertainty have
been profound, and we will never forget Juan Sebastian Guerrero or the life he was building
for his family. His life mattered, and his family deserves to know that their loss
will not be forgotten. My hope is that in the days, months, and years ahead, we remember
not only this tragedy, but also the compassion, courage, and unity this community displayed
in seeking transparency, accountability, and justice for one of our neighbors. What gives
me hope is how Bideford responded. We were unexpectedly thrusted international spotlight,
attention we did not sought or wanted, yet we show the country that Bideford is far
more than a small coastal city in Maine. We are a community that stands together.
We embrace the diversity that has shaped us, value every person who calls this city home,
and understand that dignity and respect should never depend on someone's background,
believes a political affiliation. At a time when our nation often feels divided,
this community demonstrated that we demanded a transparency and
accountability while still treating one another with humanity. We show that
disagreement does not have to become disrespect and that compassion is not
a sign of weakness. It is a reflection of our character. I am grateful to the
men and women who served our community under extraordinary pressure, and to the
residents who supported one another, checked on their neighbors, and
reminded us that community is built through kindness, especially during
difficult times. I am proud to call Bitterford home. No community is perfect,
but this past week reminded me of who we are at our core. We are resilient, we
care deeply, we show up for one another. And my hope is that we carry those values forward,
continuing to seek truth, continuing to listen, and continuing building a community where every
person feels seen, respected, and valued. This, this is the Bideford I know, this is the Bideford
I believe in, and this is the Bideford we need to continue to strive to be.
Good
evening. My name is Tophie Thorn and I'm here on behalf of Presente Mane as
the mayor alluded to over the past week. We have been supporting the family
through this traumatizing series of events. But tonight we are not here to
talk about paperwork, we're not here to debate work permits or
court dates or immigration status because the truth is none of that
matters. No piece of paper determines whether a human being deserves to live
or to die.
Yohann Sebastian Adiron Guerrero was a father, a partner, a worker, a neighbor, and a human
being.
And last Monday, as we all know on July 13th, he was shot and killed in cold blood on the
streets of this city.
But this is bigger than one shooting.
This is bigger than Bitterford.
It's bigger than Maine.
We have been watching a pattern of state-sanctioned violence unfold against our communities
across the entire country.
Lorenzo Salgado, Arajo and Houston, of course, Alex Pretti and Nicole, Renee and Nicole Good
in Minneapolis, the 22 individuals who have died in ICE custody just this year alone.
These are the ones that we know of.
And now of course, Yohan Sebastian here in our streets, countless families destroyed
and one agency responsible every single time.
This violence of criminalization is not new to us.
In January, our communities lived through an ice occupation that never truly ended.
At the time, we warned publicly at presenté that in meetings with local officials, in statements
just like this one, that the longer ice remained embedded in our communities, the more likely
it was that someone was going to die.
A community member, a legal observer, someone.
And here we are, six months later, standing here, proven right in the worst possible
way.
And when asked about this violence, what did we hear from those in charge?
I saw an interview last week, a Tom Homan, one of the architects of this administration's immigration enforcement,
called these deaths not even a bump in the road, not even a pause worth taking seriously.
That is how little our lives are worth to those in charge of running this operation.
This family will carry this loss for the rest of their lives.
Their three-year-old daughter grew up without her father.
That is not a bump in the road.
That is a lifetime of grief that this administration both created and dismissed in the very same
breath.
So when we say no more, we mean it.
Not another statement.
Not another investigation of ICE controls.
We are not here to ask for the review of use of force policy or wait for a report.
And we are not here to ask for more training or a view of ICE's procedures and their
tactics.
We have to make sure that this time is actually different, that the family's grief and a daughter
growing up without her father means something beyond the headline that we are already seeing
fade in a week.
That there is justice.
There are no other families added to this very same list.
So we are here to say today that ICE has no business in our communities, not in
our jails, not in our schools, not in our poll sites, and not in our streets.
May I finish, may I have a few more?
If you want safe communities, ICE cannot be a part of them, full stop.
Every single dollar, every agreement, and every ounce of cooperation that any city and state
gives this agency makes all of us less safe, full stop, and we will accept nothing less
than the total dismantling of this lawless criminal agency.
So we refuse once again to grieve quietly and wait for change, not when our very
survival is on the line.
Our communities today are actively under attack, not hypothetically, not some day, but right now.
So we are asking this council to stand with us with actions and not statements.
So you must continue to block the deputization of local law enforcement to participate in mass detention and deportation
and also break collaboration between ICE and CBP and DHS and FBI and local law enforcement.
We must continue to advance transnational cultures of care, belonging, invitation, accountability,
and interdependence, and even and especially under pressure, building relationships with
those who have experienced the violence of incarceration, detention, and deportation
firsthand.
So please, protect this community because until you do, none of us are truly safe
and no family is protected from becoming the next name on this list.
Thank you.
Good
evening, Sam Peacore, award seven.
Strange to be saying that in this room, instead of city council chambers.
I'm curious, by a show of hands, who among you was truly surprised
that Johann Sebastian Geron Guerrero was shot and killed by federal
immigration enforcement officers last Monday?
Anyone? I won't pretend that your silence is an answer, but
either answer raises a question this council must confront. You weren't
surprise than the danger was known. If you were surprised then the warnings the
city had already documented weren't taken seriously or followed with the
urgency they required. 250 years ago this month the continental Congress adopted
the Declaration of Independence. We hold these truths to be self-evident that
all men are created equal, that they're endowed by their creator with
certain unalienable rights that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness. That to secure these rights governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
On Thursday I took the same oath that binds each of you, to support the constitutions
of the United States, in Maine, and faithfully discharge the duties of office.
Last week, Johann Sebastian Guerrero was deprived of his life and his liberty.
The oath you took does not give you command over ICE, but it does require more than
reciting what municipal government cannot do.
It requires you to identify and use every lawful power of your office to defend the constitutional
rights of your constituents.
That is where you failed him.
I do not fault this council for lacking federal authority.
I fault it for failing to publicly examine, debate, and exercise municipal authority.
By January, the city had already described and recognized the local harm.
Across the country, we watched Americans killed by federal immigration officers.
We watched people abducted from their homes, were places, and streets by mass agents in unmarked vehicles, sometimes without warrants, probable cause, or even lawful authority.
Torn away from their families and the lies they had built.
And here in Bitterford, the city admitted that the harm was real and happening here.
Yet the public response remains chiefly administrative.
After January 28th, the public record I reviewed goes quiet until Johan was killed.
Your values were published, the safeguards were not.
The mayor's statements have been necessary,
and tonight's proclamation may properly honor Johann,
but statements and ceremony will not make us safe.
They do not answer the question before us.
What do this council and this mayor intend to do?
When it comes to responsibility,
I'm not claiming that anyone here is responsible for Johann's death,
but political responsibility includes what governing bodies do
after recognizing a danger,
a danger that we recognize in January.
limited power is not no power. You cannot control ICE, but you can govern
Bitterford. It's your job to use every lawful municipal power to defend
constitutional government within these borders. The danger before us demands
leadership in the full exercise of local authority. Publish the Bitterford
Police Department's policy. Order a public legal review of the city's
federal agreements and available municipal safeguards, but binding action
before this council. If you believe that the city lacks the authority,
published legal analysis. If you possess the authority but refuse to use it, say so plainly.
Statements and proclamations tell us what you believe but they don't make us safe. If this
council chooses continued passivity, I will organize petition and work openly to replace
those of you at the ballot box.
Fifteen percent of the last gubernatorial election is suitable
for recalling the mayor and at-large counselors.
That's 1,300 people.
For counselors, it's about 300.
I think we can do that if we have to.
Good evening.
My name is Matt Haas, Board 1.
I want to thank the council for your leadership.
You didn't create this situation, but you do have to deal with it.
I've been at the park every night since this happened,
and I've been with the kids in the neighborhood,
and it's not easy for anyone.
The proclamation you need tonight was the truth, every word.
But I ask you, what do we do while the proclamation works its way through the system?
My father taught me that all politics is local, and it seems to me that a simple solution
is that ICE doesn't come into this town without registering with the Bitterford Police.
Let our police decide what the community needs to do to help monitor and ensure
the laws are upheld.
We have demonstrated that we as a local community know what is right and are committed to watching
out for each other.
Then maybe Sokka would join us and Alfred, but no matter what, we must remain united
in protecting each other.
Thank you.
Good evening. My name is Nelty No Way. I live in Kennebunkport, just down a few miles down from
Poole Road and Hill Street that I spend to every day to pay respect to Sebastian.
I am a zero generation American and I chose to become a naturalized citizen just so that I can vote.
I only have a simple suggestion for City of Bitterford today tonight, which is to protect the last DNA evidence,
the bloodstain on the curved side that I saw so many people, especially media, who
planted their tripod on his bloodstain where many of us started protecting that
curve. And I think it would be easy for you just have to find a money and I'll
be happy to donate the first dollar, a hundred dollars, a thousand dollars,
whatever it's going to take to create a permanent stone flower bed because those
flowers right now as I drove by to come here is dying. It's not being reflushed
and it's going to be within next a week, months, a year. This whole thing will be
We forgot unless we create a memorial that symbolizes what happened here to aspiring somebody
that wants to become an American like me who had a 50 years more great life here.
And I was so struck that so many people came out, but that's going to fade away.
and it will I'll be done in a minute because I don't have a prepared remarks
this is purely from my heart please find the finding source and I'll be
happy to give you my address and I'll be the first person to donate thank you
my
name is Evan Lockwood I'm not from Bitterford I'm not even from Maine
originally but I wear this I wear this sweatshirt because I'm proud to live
here and I'm proud to have as many diverse neighbors and diverse friends as I do. I can't help but sit
there and think that you knew that this would happen. This was a long time coming and that's
sad to say. We've been contacting you. We've been emailing you about this, about the ice presence
in this, not only in this state but in this city and it's sad that it had to come to this
point
saying that there's not much that we can do that just isn't enough it's
just not it's it's there has to be something if you're not emailing if
you're not calling then what are we doing why are we here why are we the
one speaking on this why aren't you they
are they're supposed to be they're
not right now they are now because somebody's dead but they weren't
before.
And I hope you hold that with you. And I hope that whatever takes going forward
that you're out there, you're doing something because there's not much we can do isn't enough.
These are the people that sat there and clapped for a city manager who quit on us, who quit
on this city. They stood there and clapped for her. And now what? Now look where we
are it's not enough you got to do more thank you
my name is Katherine Crowley and
I am a Mainer I've lived in Biddeford for over ten years now and I'm proud to be
from this community this is kind of an unprecedented time I think in a lot of
our lives and I find myself really wondering what I can do to make a
difference feels like a couple times a year we vote and a couple times a
We might show up to these.
This is my first in-person city council meeting,
which may be a shame on me, but I'm happy to be here.
And it took a lot to be here because I work.
And so I had to have a lot of people cover for me to be here,
which is another barrier to why I think there are not so many people here today
because they have to do what they have to do.
We're not given the grace to speak for ourselves in person to the people that can listen, that can make a difference.
So I'm really grateful to be here today.
I have been out in our community every single day since Monday's tragedy happened.
I've met more neighbors in the past week than I have my entire life living here.
I've been protesting going to the memorial, replacing those flowers, because they are eventually going to wilt away.
I don't want to forget what happened.
I want to thank the police department and all of City Works for keeping us safe this week while we do protesting grief.
But this leaves a lot of questions for me that maybe I should know the answers to, but I don't.
The police department, have they been cooperating and helping ICE since January when the shameful
name of Catch of the Day is just laughing in our faces as they terrorize our neighbors?
Is Bitterford Police going to continue to cooperate with ICE if they come back?
Because they're here.
I live off Hubert Street where there's viral video of my neighbor being harassed saying
that if you don't comply we're gonna come back and we're gonna take all of your
family. That was two doors down for me. And now this has happened on Poole and
Hill and I, to our neighbor, to Sebastian, to someone that meant something to so
many people. I just, I don't know that anything I'm saying is profound. I just,
I want to be heard. I want you all to know that we care so much about
each other and we need to stand up for each other and I hope that you hear us
today and you do turn action, words into action. I had the happenstance of
meeting the mayor and his wife on my way home from the vigil and I got to
shake both of your hands and from all this time or all of these influencers
and all of these politicians and these candidates are coming and rats on our
streets getting publicity. It felt really good to have faith in somebody that was actually there
on the streets. I want to thank you for showing up and caring about our community. And I hope that I
can aspire a little hope that maybe if we just believe in our government and we show up for them
and we stand up, we will help if you tell us how to help. Thank you.
Good evening. My name is
Jonathan Haynes, I live at Hills Beach now. I was born in Bangor, raised in Biddiford on
and Havy Avenue, Grant Street, which no longer exists.
And what I want to say is I feel responsible.
I didn't do enough.
And it's easy enough to say city council didn't do enough,
but also I didn't do enough.
I've been on Ice Watch Committee,
but Ice Watch Committee wasn't there.
We didn't alert anyone the day that Johan was killed
because we don't have enough people
in that Ice Watch Committee.
And we need more people in that Ice Watch Committee.
We need to have, in Bitterford, we need leaders that say, like Mayor Drapo did 100 years ago,
we're drawing the line at the bridge. We do not want these people here.
Because Johann wasn't killed just by an individual.
And there's been a lot of information about the individual that killed him.
But Johann wasn't killed by an individual. He wasn't just killed by ICE.
I'm a member of Maine People's Alliance, and we went to Senator Collins' office last January
worry and we delivered a bag of ice melt and we said we don't want ice in our
community. After we did that and we also went to Senator King's office but after
we did that Senator Collins went ahead and voted for billions more dollars for
ice so we need to be more firm in who we are. Stand at the bridge if we need
to. How can we literally stand at the bridge and keep ice out? Because the
final point I want to make is also, John was not killed by an individual. He was killed
by racism. He was killed by greed. He was killed by the profit motive. He was killed because
ICE agents get paid a bounty basically. They have a quota. And why do they have a quota?
They have a quota because millions and millions and millions of dollars have been invested
in these detention facilities, it's a money-making game for these people.
It's not a game for us here in Bideford when somebody gets killed, but it's a money-making game,
and that's why they do it. Why do we have so many detention facilities?
How many billions of dollars? Check it out.
The two major corporations that house people that are abducted by ICE make billions of dollars.
We don't have a city budget that's billions of dollars, but we need to also, we need to band together,
understand what we're really fighting against and what it really will take for us to change this system.
Back in the days of slavery, in Maine there was a big debate.
There was a lot of people that said we need to reform slavery.
There are other people that said we need abolition.
There was a strong abolitionist movement here in the state of Maine before the Civil War.
war. If that abolitionist movement had won in the United States, we would not have had
to have a civil war because we wouldn't have had to fight about slavery. But we did have
a civil war here, and many people died because we didn't have a strong enough abolitionist
movement. We need a strong abolitionist movement that says, we are going to get rid of ice
and we're going to get rid of the whole system that upholds ice. Thank you.
Good
evening members of the City Council and audience. My name is Victor
Fosley and I live at 16 Baybury Road in Bidafit. I've been a full-time resident
of Bidafit for the last eight years. I'm very pleased with what I see and what
I've found in Bidafit. Now, Bidafit unfortunately is no longer unique in the
fact that it has been has avoided violence that we've seen over the last week and it's
happening too often and you're all witnesses to it and I think adopting your proclamation
tonight is a strong stance against what has been going on but I'd like to direct
my comment to mayor. There are other cities that have faced this terrible
situation. They are mayors and concerned as to whether or not you've been working
with them to see how they're attacking this problem that we're facing and if
you could give us a report on that I don't know that this is the forum to do
that now, but that's what I would like to see some upgrading of the information that
we've received. I see the memorials, the flowers are wilting. I hope the spirit of the people
and benefit isn't wilting and I want to think that the mayor is going to maintain that
spirit on getting this matter resolved one way or another. That's what I'm looking
forward to seeing, and I do want to say one other thing. I want to congratulate the city council
because I've listened to every single one of the people who spoke here tonight,
whether they agreed with you or not, you should be proud of the way they're willing to stand up
for the city of benefit. Thank you very much.
Good evening. My name is Sam Bullock. I live
Ward 4. I live at Foss and Pool. Yon was my neighbor. I wasn't planning to speak
tonight but felt compelled to as somebody who lives so close to what
happened and I want to say I want to be I want to let everybody know what the
situation has been like in Ward 4 this year. ICE has been very present in our
community and unfortunately for me as a resident what happened on Monday was a
an incredibly tragic inevitability and I want to just be able to speak for the
members of my community who after Monday told me how frightened they were and how
frightened they have been since January of February. The bus stops are right
outside of my house and ICE has been surveilling them for months. Obviously
school is out now but when school is in session I've seen my immigrant
neighbors pull their kids out of school. I've seen my immigrant neighbors be
pulled out of cars by ICE in front of the children who are at the bus stops.
It has been horrific.
The parents are terrified.
The children are terrified.
I've done what I can as a community member and this is my very first time being here
at the city council meeting and it won't be my last and I'm sad that it is because
I feel so very let down by my elected officials that this was allowed to happen for so
long.
Thank you.
Good evening, John Collins, Ward 6, a block from here.
No time
for
love if they come in the morning.
No time to show fears or tears in the morning. No time for goodbye, no time to ask why.
And the sound of the siren is the cry of the morning.
Moving hearts, written 50 years ago. Nothing's changed.
Oh, Bitterford really stepped up after that horrific event.
But, you know, for Carolina
and Dulce, all the chants and flowers, candles, they're not going to bring Ohan back.
They're
The only thing that's going to do that is accountability, justice.
If ICE agents knew they were going to face accountability, maybe they'd think twice or
maybe three times before they pulled the trigger.
But the question, that's been said hundreds of hundred times in Minneapolis and Houston
and Portland and Chicago.
The question is how do you achieve that?
29 shootings, six deaths, zero arrests. Zero is a pretty small number. So why? Why is because these
supposed sham investigations carried out by Homeland Security are just a pretext for a cover-up.
Two images that concerned me last Monday. One was within a couple hours. The crime scene
was secured and it was crawling with people wearing FBI shirts and DHS shirts.
Bideford PD and state police know where to be seen. How did that happen? The other
one that concerns me is if you look at the horrific video of Yon being pulled
out of the car. 18 seconds after he's pulled out, figure appears from the left side of
the video I saw.
I don't know whether it's at ICE or DHS, it was an agent, not with
all the puffed up, looked like a supervisor, I'm assuming that, came sprinting in, went
to the, we now know the killer was hovering over the body and pulled him away off
to the side. And then you can see a little bit longer before the video quits. He's not
comforting him. He's instructing him. I suggest that that's when the cover-up began. Get the
story straight and stick to it. But then when the story fell apart, when the video evidence
came out about the weaponized vehicle, change the story. Stick to the news story.
Oh, all
have to reveal the cover-up. Transparency is what it's all about.
Dearergo, I lead, let Bideford, let Maine be the one to stop at the bridge.
Tell us what you're getting access to and not getting access to. Tell us what
happened that morning that excluded the local and state police from the crime
be transparent be partners in this we're on the same side I hope to get
transparency accountability and ultimately justice thank you.
Hi my name is
Elena Betz I live on Graham Street I've lived in Bedouford all 26 years of my
life I grew up in three different streets and three different wards I am
and so just unsettled by what happened I you know you always hear you never
think it would happen here and I truly never thought it would. Bitterford has
been my home and it has been such a place of safety for me but also seeing the
community we have you would think it would never happen to somebody in the
community whether they are here legally or not. They are still a human being. They still deserve
the right to do process. They still deserve the right to be here and talk to their family whether
that be at home or just wherever. It's just it's an unfortunate event and I was a teacher
for two years one of those years was up in Lewiston and that was right when all of
the ice raids started to happen really aggressively and I taught a lot of
students from other countries either coming here newly or they've been here
for their entire lives and their families were the first ones to come over and
And they were horrified. They were so scared. And I know Lewiston is in Bideford, but it still felt
statewide. So seeing
this effect happening here
really
truly has shocked me to the core because
I've been out with the protesters and they have been so peaceful and so welcoming and
And to everyone, whether that be somebody driving by, yelling at us, or somebody walking
by in the morning and offering them, we have free water, we have free snacks, you know,
you're just, you're on a walk, you're in the neighborhood, would you like a water?
As you walk by, it's a hot day out.
You know, all we're trying to do is get our voices heard, and we don't feel that
any of it was fair in this situation, and we feel that Johann deserves to get more
respect than what he was given and we deserve some dignity and his killer
deserves to be held accountable whether that's from you as a council member or
from the state I hope from the state or from federal honestly because this did
not need to happen thank you
my name is Matt Gile and I live in Ward 3 I was
Because I was in Kittery when the name of the city that I love, I heard on the radio.
And when that happens, it can make a person feel so small, and I am under no illusion.
The color of my skin means that I don't have to feel as small as other people do.
you. When my taxpayer dollars, when our taxpayer dollars sponsor the murder of any one member
of our community, nobody's rights are safe. And so I felt so disillusioned and small.
Well, when I drove home into the city, that feeling shrunk when I saw the amount of people
who came out, the amount of people who united in the name of love and who drew the line
in the sand.
This message is for you, Bitterford.
I am so proud.
I'm so proud of this place.
And I know the work is not done, and many of us are wondering what our place is, what we can do.
I don't know the answer, but I know it looks like it did on Monday,
and it has sense for
the people who showed up in protest against love and unification.
Well,
I know that the membership of love has far more people than the memberships of hate
and bigotry and intolerance and senselessness.
And that makes me proud and gives me hope, and there is more to be done.
There is more to be done, but I know the picture of what that is, it looks like Bitterford.
So thank you, thank all of you, and let's keep up that good work.
Let's not relent, we can't afford to.
Thank you.
Good evening.
My name is Abigail Felix.
I live on Main Street in Bitterford.
I have for four years now.
A couple things about me, I hate public speaking,
but I love my community, and that's why I'm up here today.
I have been recovering from surgery for the last month,
and one of the first things that I did was go out and protest on Monday morning.
Then two days later, my friend and I were walking to another protest,
and we had a drink thrown at us on Alfred Street.
And when things like that happen, it really rattles you,
because we were there for our neighbor, for our friend,
for someone in our community,
and this is how other people repay us.
And I think that everything you have said tonight
with your proclamation is a great start,
but we need action.
If people are willing to be on the street
and do something heinous,
why can't we do something great
for the people of our community?
People are here talking to you
because we need something to happen.
This is not just something we saw on the news.
This is something that happened on our streets.
Again, our streets.
My mom lives in Hawaii, and she found out later in the day by seeing it on Instagram Reels.
Getting a call from your mom asking why you were at a protest that she saw on Instagram Reels is an insane moment
and something I never want anyone to have to experience again.
We just want you to do something instead of just saying something.
Thank you.
Hi, everyone.
My name is Brandy Rogers and I'm in Ward 6.
I want to start by quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said,
darkness cannot drive out darkness.
Only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate.
Only love can do that.
And I appreciate so many of my community members,
as many people have said this coming up here this evening.
I think it's been a beautiful tribute to our city, how we've responded, and I really appreciate
being part of it and everything that I've seen in our city, or much of what I've seen
in our city the last week or so, given this tragic event.
Another thing I'd like to mention is my teacher, Marty Burgess, who lives in Kennebunk.
Many of you may know him.
I taught with him for many years.
We taught peace skills to those who had committed domestic violence or who at least
had been caught with doing domestic violence and I have to remind myself of this and I
just want to share it because I don't know if everyone else knows this idea but it's
very simple and it's called the 3Ds and so whenever there's anything tense going on or
even if you're just having a tough day you have to have a tough conversation with
your partner.
The most dangerous thing that we have to do is listen and so anyway a quick and
dirty option for that when we're having a hard time or just need to think about
this stuff and how can we be peaceful are the three D's sit down hands down voice down and so if I
can remember that everyone around me it's a lot safer and so any of us who are in a position to
participate in any de-escalation trainings throughout all of this I encourage it and I hope to
participate in even more and the main point of why I'm here right now and I'll be very brief
is I would like to find out the answer to this question and I'd love an answer back by phone
or by email, however that can be coordinated. But I'd just like to go on the record and have this
question answered. How frequently do Bitterford law enforcement find the need to shoot into vehicles
to keep our community safe? I'd like to know of all time, I'd like to know this week, this year,
and I'll look for those answers as soon as possible. Thank you.
Hello, Kayla Lewis, Ward 3.
You know, there's not much to say about this, so I'm
gonna keep it pretty brief, to some extent. I'm not gonna play coy with you
guys. We've done our part as a community. We'll continue to do our part now. It is
your turn to do what you need to do. And what does that look like? If you're
really unsure, I can give you a couple of ideas. You can form a network with
Sanford-Saco, Lewiston, communities that look like ours form a coalition and start
to mobilize and have conversations and actually come up with an actual plan and
talk to our representatives to advocate for action steps. At the state level, that
way, you know, our communities that have, you know, BIPOC community members are
actually seeing action happen in a larger way. It can't just stay in
We have to look at other communities that look like us and start collaborating and working together, okay?
That's one one idea. Okay, and I have some contacts in Sanford if you need help. Okay, so I
I'm here. A tool that you guys know you have. You can form an ad hoc committee to start looking
at actual action steps, like forming a coalition or a network of communities that look like ours
to actually start getting plans into place, to start brainstorming what we can actually do
and what it can look like in our community, but also in other communities that's well within
your wheelhouse. Another thing that you have at your disposal, you have a DEI committee.
That's what they're there for, okay? So you can mobilize them, have them be a part of the ad hoc group.
You have, you know, a public arts commission, okay? You can bring them into the conversation.
We're talking about preserving the memorial site. That's what they're there for as well.
We have community members who will most likely probably donate to help build something, okay?
So these are some of the basic things that I just came up with by sitting down and listening to my fellow community members.
I came up with those ideas, okay, and I'm not even an elected official.
So I know if you gave us some thought, you can probably come up with some really great
ideas as well.
First things you should probably do is form that ad hoc committee and get on the phone
with Samford, Sacco and Lewiston.
That's what I would do.
Thank you.
Oh, and let's not play coy.
Let's actually move to action.
Thank you.
My
name is Remy Lindeman.
I live right around the corner from where the execution occurred.
I've lived in Bideford as a homeowner for 10 years.
I'm a business owner downtown for five.
And I speak to your residents and your constituents every day in my business.
They talk about how scared they are.
They talk about how they wonder if their kids are going to come home from school or if they're going to get snatched up.
Our neighborhood where we live is very diverse with minorities and immigrants.
We love our neighbors. We feel safe with our neighbors. We have not felt safe ever since ICE came into town.
and along a long enough timeline, this was honestly an inevitability and there
is nothing to stop them from doing it again. My question to you all is what
are you going to do to keep us all safe?
That's that's my question and we love
our community. My wife and I have lived in Memphis in Detroit in New York in
in Las Vegas, but we have never felt as unsafe
for ourselves and our neighbors
as we have in the last week.
And words are not enough.
We need action, and we need to know
that you're going to keep the city
and its inhabitants safe.
That's all I have to say.
Hello.
My name is Alex Stikowski.
I live on Pool Street about six houses down from where Sebastian was murdered at the hands of our tax dollars.
My wife and I first moved to Bittiford in 2018.
It was a desolate place.
Empty storefronts would boarded up windows lined Main Street.
My neighborhood was loud, rambunctious, and hardly diverse.
Now the empty storefronts are filled with small businesses that care about their community from business owners of diverse backgrounds.
My neighborhood is filled with diverse families and I've never felt safer.
Johan was my neighbor and I felt strongly that I could not sit idly by while innocent blood stains my street.
Immigrants are part of our community and they always have been.
The proclamation was a great start. It's unfortunate that it came too late to save a life.
Bravery is not the absence of fear. It's the persistence in spite of fear's presence.
I ask those of you elected officials to be brave in the face of tyranny
and publicly denounce ICE's presence in the city of Bideford
or make room for someone who will be brave on our behalf.
Thank you.
Good evening.
My name is Jeremy Sims.
I live in Ward 5.
I might be the most
recent member,
new member of Ward 5
here tonight.
I was moving into my new
residence on July 4th
this month.
I
was feeling very happy about
my new found freedom in this state
in Bideford.
Immediately I noticed the friendliness and welcome feeling from all of the people in the town.
Especially having moved from a place full of 287G programs where, if you're not familiar with them,
this is where local law enforcement like deputies and sheriffs basically become deputized ICE agents.
full access to the ICE systems and then they make ICE arrests. That's not how it
was here.
And then on July 13th it was suddenly and I looked around and I could
see on the faces of everybody looks like I remembered from where I came from.
But I have a question that shouldn't be a theoretical legal question. It
It should be a theoretical legal question, but tonight it isn't.
It's a question for you,
when local law enforcement has been provided objective, reasonable evidence
to believe that there is probable cause, that there is an imminent threat to the people
that they swear to protect.
What is their responsibility? To turn their gaze outward to the source of the threat.
To take physical defensive action to use their authority and arms, if necessary,
to protect its residents from lethally dangerous roving possees on hunting expeditions,
carrying out summary executions and vigilante injustice.
As a city council, you should consider this question.
You should ask your residents what they think about it.
And then you should ask yourself if you are willing to take action
based on what your constituents want you to do.
you. You can choose to be on the bright side of history as a new manor that I feel like
I am proud of and want to continue to be proud of. I ask you, what does a dearer Joe look
like? What does it look like?
Good evening. I'm Holly Kulichin. I live in Ward 6.
This
This tragedy should never have happened.
We all know that.
I was very, on Monday, though, after he had been killed, I was just amazed by the amount
of people that turned out in Mechanics Park in solidarity to mourn his death and also
So just be there for each other.
And I think we all realize that in order to get anything done, you have to start working
together.
And I'm sorry, I'm having a little bit of a hard time right now.
I run Bitterford Community Gardens.
We have four gardens in town, and I want to invite people to come to the garden
to clear your head, to soothe your soul, to nourish yourself.
And you can best bet that if Vice shows up at one of our gardens, I'm going to tell him to get the hell out.
I
also want to invite the community to come to Youthful Mains food distributions this week,
tomorrow at the 22nd of July from 4-7.
They are going to be in Mechanics Park with Music in the Park and Bitterford Public Market.
They're going to be in the Mission Hill Garden and the St.
Andre's parking lot, they're going to be in Williams Court, they're going to be in
Clifford Park and at the J. Richard Martin Community Center. So bring your
family, if you need to pick up vegetables or groceries for your
neighbor, they'll be there from four to seven at all of these locations. So I'd
like to bring these up to you guys if I may. Okay, and just be good to each
other.
Hey there, my name is Steph Mantis. I'm from Ward 4. I grew up in
I went to Biddaford High, I left and I came back during COVID and I've been here for the
last six years, not full time but heavily.
And I live on Alfred Street and I look at the post office every day when I'm here.
In the last week, the flag has been at half mass and I know why.
And it's different when you see it half mass and it's something different and distant.
This is visceral. This is hitting. And I don't feel like I have much to say that hasn't been said here tonight.
And I'm not here to embass anyone or criticize because at this point that doesn't do anything for Yohan,
that doesn't do anything for anyone that is unprotected in the future.
And I really am here more so to, you know, just reiterate some of what my neighbors have already said tonight,
which is that we have to be more proactive. We have to be looking at different solutions.
If the format of government and city – like this meeting, for example, if people can't make it to this meeting, we need to have some satellite meetings.
We need to have different days, different times. It can be bite-sized.
Like, we are a tight-knit community. I run a restaurant here.
I've been talking to restaurant owners about all the ways we can coordinate support.
What does that look like as business owners?
If we have space to offer, can we have a meeting in a restaurant?
You know, how do we do things apolitically?
When a neighbor is murdered, there shouldn't be politics. This isn't a political thing.
And whether or not this is a coordinated or uncoordinated agenda from the federal level,
it is incompetent no matter what. And we cannot continue to be reactive to incompetence at this level.
We must be proactive. We must find ways to strengthen the connections we have together.
And I don't think it's this big formal thing. I think it is small connected moments, daily actions.
And I think, you know, to Kayla's point, like, we should be talking to other cities.
We should be coordinating and expanding networks and borrowing tools that are being tried and, you know,
tested in unfortunate circumstances. But we know where to look, unfortunately, in this country.
and I really implore that we do so so if there's anything that the business
community can offer like maybe there's an ad hoc committee that we can start to
kind of funnel into the council I volunteer to help coordinate that and
I just it's rather shocking to be standing here today and I I pray that
no one else in our community in Maine and in this country abroad has to do
the same. So thank you.
Cab Bates, word five. There has been a lot of talk tonight about action rather than words.
I appreciate that sentiment. I'd like to bring up a few ideas to encourage outside of the
box thinking about how we might address this. I don't think any of these or all
of them are enough, but some things to get the ball rolling, at least for consideration.
Bidford Police should be looking out for vehicles without agency markings or appropriate plates
and pulling them over. If the police can't,
I do not in general, promote that kind of
aggressive policing, and I think leniency should be encouraged if something like
that were to be enacted, but I do think it's a good idea, even if the Bidford Police Department
can't make an arrest in an instance like that, at least you are slow.
That's a good thing. Another thing that could be done on the local level would be to enact a policy forbidding law enforcement of any agency from wearing a mask and requiring uniform insignia.
I loosely understand this being looked at at least the federal or state level, but it could happen here in the local level first.
If the police department sees, quote, agents not following said procedures act on the assumption, they are kidnapping someone, that it is an abduction in progress.
Intervene.
My understanding is that in emergency situations, the enactment of ordinances can be expedited, and this is certainly such a situation, so that kind of a policy could be put into effect.
The last thing on the list here would be to encourage the community to report presumed abductions to the police and encourage the police to take such reports seriously and intervene promptly.
Even if the police is to learn that the operation is illegal, ensure the information on the federal officers present is recorded for local law enforcement purposes.
anything that we can do to slow this BS down is good. It's not enough, but like
let's do something. Thank you.
Hi, my name is Alan Dutremble. I was born in
Bedford 74 years ago, born and raised in Ward 5 and now I live in Ward 6. First
I want to say that the mayor and city council it's not your fault.
There's
prevented this from happening. The problem now is in Washington, D.C. with President
Trump having the green light to do anything he wants and he knows it.
I never knew my
grandfather. He emigrated here from Canada to try to find a better life. He was an immigrant
and he was a police officer here shot and killed on duty when my father was nine years
old. So I wish I could have met the man. All I know about him is what my father
told me, but he was an immigrant. We're a city of immigrants.
I work in Booth Bay
Harbor in the summertime. I'm a 43 year old teacher here in
Bitterford. I work in Booth Bay Harbor in the summer when my boss let me come
here to speak tonight.
I work with a lot of Republicans and MAGA people up
there. And I asked them about who's that guy that West, that young guy who was killed during
his speech last year, and they said, Oh, Charlie Kirk. I asked him about the senator that
would just passed away. Oh, Lindsey Graham. So I said, Okay, who were the two people
in Minneapolis that were killed by ICE? They didn't know. You didn't know Alex
pretty and Renee good I said how about the fellow in Houston that was just
killed last week last week oh they didn't know about Lorenzo Salgado
couldn't come up with the name and I said okay well how about someone in your
own state now how about the young man that was killed in Bideford this last
week they couldn't come up with his name either and you know what I asked
the next day and they didn't know it then. They don't care. Really the reality of the situation
is Donald Trump has so much power in Washington right now. He's like a monarch. And the only way
we can change this is to make sure we have a change in the majority and the House of Representatives
and the Senate this November.
So we can point fingers as much as we want here,
but we've got to get involved in the next election
and make sure independence and, you know, some Republicans,
but really, really independence and Democrats,
we've got to make sure that they go out there
and vote, you know, for Democrats no matter what.
I don't know who the candidate's going to be.
It looks like it could be Troy Jackson,
But whoever it is, that person's got my vote because we've got to make sure we get a Democrat from Maine.
Good evening. My name is Mufalo and I'm the Executive Director for the Maine Winger Rights Coalition.
I'm exhausted.
Our organization is exhausted.
When something this big happens and it happens on your watch as a leader,
history.
History is going to remember you. What did you do?
There's been so much pain
that's come from the community and it keeps coming.
But it's on your watch. It's
on your
watch as leaders.
When the lights are turned off today,
on your watch,
we're always asked
as an organization, tell us what to do.
We're tired of telling you what to do as an organization.
I know my friends from Presente, I think, were here or they're still here. We're tired,
but this is happening in your town.
This is happening in your town. It's got nothing
to do with politics. It's got to do with a life. When January 20th happened, I was
Just telling everyone you are affected directly or indirectly as
leaders, what are you going
to do?
I have a statement I've shared with the mayor and he'll share that with you.
But after listening to everyone, I want to look at you, leaders, it's on your watch.
What are you going to do for this community, not just immigrants, for this community
because this community is destabilized because an immigrant life has died.
It's on your watch.
Let the immigrants remember that a change came from a small town in May called Beryford. Let
change come from this small town.
My name is Kate Adie. I'm a resident of Ward 4, just a few
streets up, just off of Hill Street. I wish that I went before a representative from the main
immigrant rights coalition, because my words will not be as resonant as hers, what an unfortunate
shared collective experience that this community has gone through and I'm so hopeful to see the
town show up for our neighbor. And I guess I just have a hope or a request or something I'm
looking forward to is that I'm looking forward to seeing this response be a continual agenda
item because this is not new. This has gone on long before January when there was increased
ice presence in Maine. I remember one of my first city council meetings that I attended
was when the community was reacting to an ice raid on some workers off of Hill Street who were
just doing their jobs and that was many months before January and it's disappointing to see
that we're still having this and it hasn't been a topic of conversation in
consistent meeting so I look forward small thing for us to continue to hear
what you all are doing to respond to keep our community safe to keep our
immigrant safe so I look forward to seeing updates as I know many of you
ran on communication on transparency and accountability so I look forward to
seeing that commitment follow through over the next several months and
years because this will take a lot of work. Thank you.
My name is Christina
Gastela. I'm in Ward 2. Well I live in Ward 2. I'm not currently in Ward 2.
I
don't think I need to say a whole lot more, but one thing that has occurred to
me in this revelation that we're having here is that we are not using a
community policing model in this in this city yet. I would like us to
consider doing that and one of the reasons is because then if we have better
relationships with law enforcement then we're not being terrorized by our own
police force and I'm not saying the bit of her police are terrorizing people by
and large when I've seen them in action they have really been very
respectful and useful human beings but we could do better and we could also
have police cars that say police on them a little more clearly like our
police cars are black and they sort of subtly say police on them and it makes
it scary when that kind of a car pulls you over. So you know we don't need to do
that tomorrow but we could do better. Thank you.
Not only the oldest I'm the
shortest person here for sure. Rosemary DeAngelis from South Portland. I will
I will begin by saying I served six years on the South Portland City Council and I served as mayor in South Portland.
I presently serve as chair of the school board and I raised these issues for a reason.
I grew up in Olertru Beach and I remember Bitterford when the mills were bustling,
providing jobs for most residents and I remember the Puritan and I remember Butler's of Bitterford and I remember Polakowicz.
The community was built by immigrants, for immigrants.
We are a country made up of immigrants.
A place that should welcome immigrants.
I taught at this high school.
I know the Iraqi owners of Leilina, the Vietnamese gentleman who owns the clothing shop,
and Francesco at Coletti's Pizza, and these are just a few, all immigrants.
I tie with Alan Dutremble, for likely the oldest person in this room, and he is right, first vote, second, run for public office, and third, let your voice be heard.
I attended the vigil on the night of the murder, and that's what it was, a murder. And as sad as it was, it was also incredibly powerful.
Someone said all government is local and that's true.
The role of every elected official is to represent the voice of the people.
And you are hearing the voices tonight.
If you listen, the names spoken here are names from around the globe.
And that's who we are.
We need your help to keep all of us safe.
I'm going to ask the public to not clap when I finish, and I encourage the council to set
clear rules for public comment.
Thank you.
My name is April Calde.
I'm a resident of Bitterford, Maine, and I have lived less than a mile from the Pulitzer
Intersection currently.
I used to live up on Pike Street for about five years, and I would go through that
intersection daily, you know, on my way to school and my way to work.
To start off, over the past week, I've seen the people of Maine band together and protest,
walks and vigils in Bitterford, Portland, Scarborough, Hallwell, Lewis and Bangor and
so many other places to support our neighbors and to show that we will not let this stand
and we are not going to just stand by.
Our neighbors need our support and our protection and to know that we are going
to be there for them.
I hope I push that you the council will support them as well, not just
With your words, but with your actions. Someone said it earlier very well, limited power is not no power. Thank you.
Any other folks who would like to speak this evening? If so, please come down to the podium.
I'll be a little brief, as I'm seemingly the last one. My bad, I'm a little dramatic.
My name is Deon Smith.
I live in Ward 5. I have been living in Biddeford since 2020. My first community
experience was digging out cars from a snowstorm and having my neighbors come
over and just start shoveling me up and exchanging names and becoming
and friendly with them. Immigrants, people of color, white people, it didn't matter who
you were. I have worked in Biddeford. I have worked at Biddeford Middle.
When Trump was
inaugurated, the children were already concerned about ICE presence. They had felt that fear
immediately. I still currently work with children as a therapist. They feel this
fear. These children are afraid for their friends as they go to school. Will their
friends make it to school? These are middle schoolers. These are high
schoolers.
We cannot reverse what happened but at this point we can show
action and show them for the children for the future for those that come after
show that we had some grit that we have community and we have shown that all
week we have community we also need you guys to step up and show that you are
a part of that community that you want to enlighten that community you want
to highlight that community you want to highlight these children you want to
make sure that they have a future. Dang it was quick.
I don't know how much more I can
go into work and talk to children about the fact that ISIS in our neighborhoods and talk
about their fear, their fear for themselves and their friends. Thank you.
Good evening, Mark Robinson, Ward 1. I don't really have a constructed narrative,
just gonna make a few observations.
In my day job, I'm in communications and a
couple times I can remember being connected to events kind of like what
happened last week. The most memorable one was 9-11. I had, after the next day, I had
a call from a kid I grew up with on May Street. Direct family connection to one of the folks
who was on one of the planes.
And sort of a searing memory of that is working with
the family and experiencing just the utter rage that they were going through at the
time. I'll never forget it. And it wasn't always rational. It was just rage. So please
keep that in mind, Council. Tonight, I think the crowd, I think the audience has been
fantastic in expressing themselves. And, you know, I think sometimes rage gets
misdirected. Just keep that in mind.
I've heard a couple things here tonight.
Number one, there was a question from a young lady who asked about how many times
benefit police have blasted out the windshield of any moving vehicle with
somebody driving it. I think I know the answer to that. I think it's never
never happened.
And I think that I've also heard a call for we just want to
heard. I commend you guys for having this evening tonight. You changed up the
the regular council meeting, provided this space, and I hope everybody feels heard
tonight because I think they have been.
Great to see my good friend Alan. Do
tremble show up tonight? He's great. I don't know if he's still here. He's back
there. A great teacher at Bedford High School and a real credit to this
society. A gentleman from anyone point right there. We said he's I think been
here for 50 years. It just reminded me when I was a substitute teacher at
Bedouin High School in the 80s. That's when we had our wave of
Vietnamese immigrants coming in. So we saw a lot of kids who were coming in.
This community has always been welcome. I was fortunate enough to go to the
memorial morning out of time on the streets one night one night last week
and also I was at the Monday protest at seven o'clock. This community has
distinguished itself in the last week. Thank you.
Any other folks who'd like to
speak this evening?
Seeing none, thank you all for your comments. I will close
the public hearing and turn it over to city counselors for any remarks.
Councillor Cote.
Thank you.
I would like to just start by
thanking everyone for coming
tonight.
It's great to hear your
thoughts.
I think a lot of everyone,
almost everyone in the room feels
the same way in terms of the
anger.
I want to send my loving
thoughts to the family of Mr.
Guerrero.
I mean, his death is an absolute tragedy that should have been avoided.
I also want to thank all the city employees that worked extremely hard to get the city
through one of its most difficult weeks in its history.
From a personal perspective, my wife and I participate in protests, and my wife carries
a sign that says, this is not a left or right moment, it is a right or wrong moment.
To me, this perfectly describes where we are now.
know. This moment is not about what either side of the polarized political spectrum thinks,
it's about what humanity considers right and wrong. To me, it is wrong killing a young
man trying to provide for his family. It is wrong that his wife no longer has a husband.
It is wrong that his young daughter can no longer play with her father. The loss
of Mr. Guerrero's life is an irreversible catastrophe.
I think everyone in this room feels anger, sadness, and frustration at such a needless
loss of life.
However, the next step is what's most important.
What can we do right?
Donate to the family or other support groups to help fund the fights that they're fighting.
Volunteer with other groups that help immigrants, getting groceries, running errands, doing
things to make them feel more safe. Providing food for the hungry. Anything to bring positivity
to a community that is hurting. Remember, this is not a left or right moment, but a right
or wrong moment. Mr. Guerrero's senseless death was wrong, and we need everybody in
the community to step up to turn this into something right. Thank you.
Councilor Badden.
First,
I'd like to also thank everyone for coming. It was kind of a unanimous decision
on the city councilors to have this night so you could share your feelings and concerns.
It takes a lot of courage to come up here and do that and I commend all those that did.
I also hope through this we can become more united and not divided.
There's no question this should not have happened.
I don't think there's anyone in this room that would question that.
It was a senseless tragedy.
This is our community.
This is not my community.
Anyone who lives here, it's our community.
I have called this my community for 65 years.
And I'm here because my grandfather and grandmother immigrated here, and that's what brought me to Bideford.
And I spent 65 years watching this community grow.
Carolina expressed during her interview her pain saying that she lost her soul.
Her soul is broken.
So she expressed that with no anger, no hatred,
which I commend her to do that.
If anyone should be angry, full of hatred, it would be her.
My belief during a tragedy is that cool heads prevail, especially with leadership.
And I want to thank the mayor for having that calm demeanor during an unthinkable tragedy this week.
His calm resolve may appear to some, he's doing nothing, and it may appear that we are doing nothing.
But that is what leadership should look like.
Sometimes it's not loud, full of answers, but there are things happening behind the scenes.
Reform and resolution cannot be achieved with violence. It never has and never can.
My hope for our city is a commitment that our Council has to the five steps in our proclamation is a start.
We hope or I hope it will bring us to a more clarity, acceptance and a peaceful community.
And I think that's what we all want. Thank you.
Councillor
Woods.
I've been jotting down things as you all have been talking. Thank
you all for your words and for being here.
I know I am committed to taking the
action that you all have asked for tonight. I hope that my fellow elected
officials are as well as was just stated. There have been responses going
on in the background but I think it's time for it to not be in the
background and I hear that from you all.
I have been involved personally in response efforts, but I sit here and I've sat here over
the last week regretting not saying more in this seat, from this seat.
I don't know if this could have been stopped, as was stated, it's not surprising.
Ice has been terrorizing our streets for months now.
They have been in my neighborhood.
This happened a block from my house.
I visited the memorial every single day.
We can hear the rain sitting in here,
trying to keep notes safe from the rain
and make sure that things are refreshed.
So thank you for those who have come out to the memorial.
I'll leave it at that.
I hear you and let's all act together.
The only thing I'll say is this does take all of us.
You all have showed up.
We have showed up.
We're going to continue to do our best to show up.
But it does take all of us.
We have a little bit more power that we should utilize.
But you all have power as well.
There's power in the words you spoke tonight.
And I'm so grateful to be in this amazing community.
And my heart goes out to Sebastian's family, Carolina and Dulce.
I'm so sorry that we could not save your your your husband and your and your father. Thank you
counselor Kurtz
Not having a social security number is not a capital offense.
It doesn't matter. No one should be shot, executed on the street by federal agents.
Don't care if you're Johann. I don't care.
I don't care what your immigration status is. That's not a capital offense.
That's not what R&E laws even say, let alone the people who are following the laws.
I don't care about that.
I don't care what you're saying. Do you have a social security number or not?
I don't care if you're Randy Weaver and you have the wrong size shotgun.
I don't care.
This is – someone was executed by the federal government in our city.
I believe it behooves me to mention this, and then I'm done.
This happened a block away.
My mother goes to synagogue.
And if you don't think the Jews are talking about this, you're fucking crazy.
This is the same thing.
Thank you.
Councillor Doughty.
Thank you.
I would like to start by thanking the mayor for the change in scope to this meeting.
As Councillor Badne said, it was a unanimous decision, but the mayor certainly wanted us to be able to have this time and the space to hear from our community about the profound loss that we have all faced.
This week has been incredibly difficult for our community, but most of all, it has been incredibly difficult for the family and the loved ones of Mr. Guerrero, who
lost his life as a direct result of an ICE operation here in our community.
That fact alone has left many people grieving, scared, angry, and searching for answers.
And I share in that anger and the grief that many of you are feeling.
I also want answers, and I think we would all share that we are working diligently
to try every avenue possible to find answers and to push for transparency and accountability for what has occurred in our community.
I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight and letting us hear your voices. I know it's not easy to speak publicly, especially regarding something so traumatic that has happened.
So thank you for coming. As Councilor Wood said, we also want to turn our words into action.
And I think that many of you are waiting for us to do that and rightfully so.
And I think many of us are going to push for action and not just words. Thank you.
Councillor Pearson. Good evening. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
No one should die because of their own or someone else's immigration status, full stop.
No question.
Thank you for coming tonight and being willing to share your sadness,
shock, bewilderment, anger, and grief.
This type of public forum is imperative after such a tragic event.
To hear directly from you allows us to better serve our community and be better leaders.
We, as elected officials, are responsible for creating spaces for public discourse while also being the stewards of our community.
Our community elected us to take the tough actions that are required to keep our community safe and functional.
I'm going to push back and say, I think tonight that we failed that.
Our city did not shut down when Mr. Guerrero was killed.
Our city staff continued to show up and do their jobs.
They processed car registrations, picked up waste, answered EMS calls, conducted traffic
stops, gave out building permits, gave our children a safe place to spend the day in
our summer camps, kept our parks pristine, and did the hundreds of other tasks that
have to be done to keep a city running.
I am grateful for their dedication and hard work in the face of this unimaginable tragedy.
Being an elected official comes with an expectation that you do what is best for the community
at large.
Not what is easy or comfortable for you personally.
We have dealt with that already this year with a complicated and arduous budget process.
This council has shown that it is willing to do the hard work, even when it is contentious and uncomfortable.
I am disappointed that we did not follow that example time.
We have an agenda in place for tonight's meeting that should have been addressed after this important and vital public discussion.
While the items on that agenda may seem trivial, delaying our city manager's search by a week,
not approving citizen appointments to our city committees,
not voting on our liquor license for new business,
not discussing the leases at the community center,
not approving FY26 budget carryovers,
updating an MOU with OLB,
and amending the council rules impacts our residents
and our community.
Any item that does that is far from trivial.
Our city has many challenges
and is never easy nor comfortable to face challenges.
This council has made a point
that we will not kick the can down the road.
Well, tonight we did.
For that I feel I must apologize to our residents for not living up to our promises.
Again, thank you for coming out tonight and sharing with us your honest and open emotions.
Public speaking is never easy, and I applaud each and every one of you who spoke tonight.
You were heard.
Actions are important, not just words.
And for those of you who didn't speak but attended to support those that did,
thank you as well.
Community only exists and communication and action happen with transparency and honesty.
Thank you.
Any other council comments at this time?
I'd like to thank all of you for coming tonight and sharing your voice.
As Councillor Wood said, that voice has power.
I also want to thank Presente, Maine,
Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition, and the many community organizations, faith leaders, volunteers,
advocates who've been working alongside Johann's family and supporting our
community during this incredibly difficult time.
As I've walked the
neighborhood in the last week, I consistently heard from people, I never
imagined something like this would happen here, but it did.
And we're faced
with the aftermath of that.
We have a responsibility to respond with
compassion with courage bravery and a commitment to justice and as we heard
here tonight not just words but actions so that's what I'm committed to do
tonight next week the next month and so long as I serve in this role thank you
now entertain a motion to adjourn moved by Councillor Woods second second by
Councillor Pearson. All those in favor?
That is unanimous. Thank you. Meeting is adjourned.