A Chelsea woman is suing a Maine State Police trooper, claiming he slammed her against the ground and his police cruiser after she attempted to walk away from him.

Marie Searles filed a lawsuit against Trooper Hunter Belanger Thursday in federal court, claiming her 4th and 14th Amendment rights were violated

Searles claims Belanger used excessive force against her while she walked past a camper in Chealsea where he was investigating illicit drug use.

She claims Belanger got away with previous similar abuse against other people and is seeking monetary damages in the suit.

The lawsuit says Belanger flipped Searles’ body up into the air and slammed her body onto the ground while she first attempted to walk away.

Then after claiming she resisted arrest, the suit says Belanger slammed her
body onto the hood of his cruiser, resulting in significant pain and bruising.

Belanger’s supervisor, Lieutenant Aaron Turcotte with the Maine State Police, was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

It says Turcotte knew or should have known about Trooper Belanger’s previous abusive behavior after a complaint in March of 2024 by a State Police Captain describing Belanger’s conduct as “completely inappropriate.”

In that instance, the suit says Belanger placed an arson suspect’s hand in a painful restraint position and forced him onto the snowy ground before other officers helped the suspect back up to be seen by emergency medical services.

The lawsuit claims Maine State Police have engaged in a long-standing
practice of failing to properly investigate and discipline troopers in cases of excessive
force.

The suit says State Police reported 33 complaints of excessive force for a ten-year period from 2015 to 2024 and found all 33 complaints to be either unfounded, or the trooper was exonerated.

Searles is seeking judgment in her favor awarding compensatory and punitive monetary damages as well as reimbursement for court costs.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Bangor.