ANDOVER, MASS. (WHDH) - An Andover Fire Rescue lieutenant has been placed on paid administrative leave after a woman says he racially profiled her.
Gabby Batista, 19, says her and her friend, Kaeyla Arreaga, stopped at her home in Andover on Wednesday to check the mail when she realized that someone was watching her.
“He decided to continue driving and park on the street across from her house,” Arreaga recalled. “He was just watching Gabby’s movements.”
The two young women then drove away only to be allegedly followed by the off-duty lieutenant in his personal car.
“So we pull over, I get out and I’m like, ‘Sir can I help you?,'” Batista said. “He told me, ‘Oh, you just stole mail from that house.'”
Batista continued that the lieutenant followed them back to her home and pulled into the driveway. That’s when she called her sister to come outside.
“My sister is like, ‘She lives here. Why would you think it is okay to tell her that she’s stealing any type of mail or doing anything?’ He’s like, ‘Oh, I just want to be a good citizen,'” Batista recalled.
Batista then pulled out her cellphone and started recording the incident.
“This is literally none of your business,” Batista can be heard saying in the video.
“I just wanted to make sure somebody wasn’t stealing something,” the lieutenant responded.
Batista told 7NEWS that she feels the color of her skin played a role in why the lieutenant acted the way he did.
“I feel like if it wasn’t for the color of my skin, he wouldn’t have stopped or questioned anything,” she said.
The video Batista recorded began circulating on Twitter.
“I want people to know that this stuff happens,” she added. “I was even more upset because this is minor compared to other things that are going on.”
The lieutenant, whose name has not been released based on the advice of labor counsel, has since been placed on indefinite paid administrative leave, Town Manager Andrew P. Flanagan and Fire Rescue Chief Michael Mansfield said in a joint news release.
“This is an extremely concerning situation, one that demands a full accounting of the facts,” Flanagan said.
Andover has since retained the services of an independent investigator to look into the facts and conduct a holistic review due to the sensitive nature of the incident.
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