The town of Andover has placed a fire lieutenant on leave and hired an outside investigator to review a “concerning situation,” in which the official pulled his SUV into a woman’s driveway while she was getting her mail and told her he wanted to make sure no one was stealing, authorities said.
The woman, a person of color, called the lieutenant a “racist white man” when she tweeted out a video clip of the encounter Tuesday.
Town Manager Andrew P. Flanagan and Fire Rescue Chief Michael Mansfield confirmed in a statement that the lieutenant, whom they declined to name on advice of labor counsel, has been placed on “indefinite paid administrative leave,” pending the outcome of the review, under terms of his collective bargaining agreement.
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According to the statement, town officials were notified Wednesday of a video circulating on Twitter that depicts a man, later identified as the lieutenant, interacting with the woman in her driveway.
The statement said the woman “questioned why he was in her driveway while she was getting her mail,” and he replied that “he was concerned someone might be stealing from the residence.”
On Twitter, the woman who posted the video wrote that “this racist white man decided to approach me for doing nothing but getting my mail at MY HOME.... he followed me and my friends car recording us and questioned if I lived there. This world is ridiculous.”
Asked if the matter was being investigated as a possible racial profiling incident, a town spokesman said Thursday that it’s “under investigation by an outside investigator who will report on all the facts in a holistic manner.”
In the 15-second video, the lieutenant’s SUV can be seen in a driveway as a female voice is heard saying “this is literally none of your business.” The lieutenant says “I’ll go right to the door,” and another voice says the residence is “my sister’s house.”
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“I know, I just wanted to make sure someone wasn’t stealing something,” the lieutenant says.
“Well that’s none of your [expletive] business,” the second voice is heard to say.
Flanagan said in the town’s statement that an investigation is imperative.
“This is an extremely concerning situation, one that demands a full accounting of the facts,” Flanagan said.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.