PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Police in Maine’s largest city said Tuesday they have made an arrest after investigating a report of a bias attack.
Police in Portland said they received a report of an incident in which a man harassed a woman and damaged her vehicle because she is of Asian descent. They said the attack happened on Monday afternoon.
The attacker told the victim to “go back to where she came from” before he kicked her driver side mirror, which he broke, police said.
Later Tuesday, police said they arrested Troy Sprague, 47, of Portland, and charged him with criminal mischief. It was unclear if Sprague had been able to hire an attorney on Tuesday. Police did not say if Sprague had a court appearance scheduled.
Portland Police Chief Frank Clark said the attack “cuts directly against everything we stand for in the city of Portland.” He said the department investigated as a hate crime and will work with the office of the Maine attorney general. Clark added that the investigation is still ongoing.
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