HARTFORD, Conn. _ An African-American woman running for Connecticut state representative said Thursday she was racially profiled by a state police trooper who questioned her while she was campaigning door-to-door in Middlefield last week.
The Rev. Ernestine Holloway said that the trooper told her she needed a peddler's permit in order to campaign and, rather than argue, Holloway sent her 12 volunteer campaign workers home and went to Town Hall to see why she needed a permit.
Holloway, a Meriden Republican who is running against Democratic Rep. Emil "Buddy" Altobello of Meriden, was out with her volunteers distributing campaign literature.
Holloway said part of her team was in a van that had a giant red, white and blue magnet that said "Ernestine Holloway for State Representative" on the side that got stopped by the trooper. Holloway was in a different car ahead of them but came back to see what was happening.
"The trooper said they had a complaint that someone was trying to break into their house," Holloway said. "I showed him who I was and explained we were campaigning when he asked if I had a peddler's permit."
Holloway said she told the trooper she had no idea she needed one to campaign and questioned the trooper as to why he claimed she needed before deciding to defuse the situation by going to Town Hall and talking with town officials.
"I didn't mind him asking me questions about an attempted burglary, but why are you asking me if I have a peddler's license? I'm not selling anything," Holloway said.
Holloway went to Town Hall and got a peddler's license just to be safe even though town officials indicated it wasn't necessary.
State Republican Party Chairman J.R. Romano said the incident was "absolutely terrible" and unprecedented in Connecticut politics.
"She was doing what every other candidate should have been doing: going door to door to meet voters," Romano said.
State police sources said that the incident is being reviewed. State police spokeswoman Kelly Grant could not be reached for comment Thursday. State police told the Meriden Record-Journal that a trooper from Troop F in Westbrook responded to a call, but said it was for a report of a suspicious person and denied that any officers insisted that Holloway needed a permit.
Holloway said the next day she was out going door-to-door campaigning again in a different section of Middlefield when she passed a different trooper while driving in the same van. Holloway said when she pulled her vehicle over and got out to start knocking on doors, the state trooper pulled up and asked her if the vehicle had broken down.
Holloway told the trooper she had just driven by him so obviously the car was okay. The trooper then left. Holloway said she didn't get the names of either trooper.
"I was profiled, accused of breaking into someone's house and stopped twice in two days for no reason," Holloway said.
Holloway consulted with other Republican candidates including gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski and was assured she didn't need a permit and had done nothing illegal. She hasn't gone back to Middlefield to campaign door to door since the incident.
"The people in the town are very nice and opened their doors and I am not afraid of them," she said. "But I am afraid of the state police."
