Selectmen Bruce D. Sauvageau and Brenda Eckstrom have been charged with defamation and civil rights violations in a $500,000 lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of Wareham Police Officer Charles H. Pillsbury IV and his wife Cara Pillsbury.

The lawsuit alleges that Sauvageau and Eckstrom "falsely have accused Charles Pillsbury of acting with racist intentions in the discharge of his duties as a law enforcement officer and of other official misconduct, including criminal action and adulterous behavior."

The suit stems from remarks made at September 2008 and June 2009 Selectmen's meetings, both of which were recorded and broadcast on WCTV.

Eckstrom said that she could not respond without seeing the summons, which will be delivered next week according to Andrew Gambaccini of the Reardon, Joyce & Akerson of Worcester. She did not anticipate being able to comment on the lawsuit even after seeing it.

Sauvageau also said he could not respond.

The charges were brought against Sauvageau and Eckstrom as individuals but, because they were acting as Selectmen when the comments were made, it was unclear whether the town would assume any role in the case.

Attorney Gambaccini said that the timing of the suit, occurring just before an election in which Sauvageau is seeking a fourth term as selectman, was purely coincidental.

The suit claims, however, that local politics played a role in the selectmen's remarks.

On March 19, 2006, Officer Pillsbury cited Sauvageau's wife for operating an uninsured and unregistered car.  The suit claims that Sauvageau called Officer Pillsbury's mother, the late Mary Jane Pillsbury, who was a Selectman with Sauvageau, and claimed that the citation was retaliatory and politically-motivated. 

On September 6, 2008, Officer Pillsbury stopped Paul Andrade for a traffic violation.  The suit claims that, based upon the disorderly, resistive, combative and aggressive conduct of Andrade, he was ultimately arrested and sprayed with pepper spray.

Three days later, Andrade appeared before the Board of Selectmen to complain about the incident.  At this time, the lawsuit alleges that "[a]lthough no mention of race or ethnicity previously had been made as a factor in Andrade's arrest, Sauvageau, on his own, remarked to Andrade 'that he couldn't help but notice' that Andrade was a black man, and that being a black man was his 'first mistake.'"

Sauvageau also called Officer Pillsbury a 'disgrace,' 'a gutless coward,' and said that his hiring was a result of nepotism.  These comments and accusations were reported in several local papers.

Sauvageau apologized for the comments at a subsequent board meeting and in the media. 

In June 2009, Cara Pillsbury attended a Board of Selectmen meeting in which Wareham resident Bill Whitehouse, who runs a local website generally critical of the selectmen,   warehamobserver.com, asked a series of questions critical of Sauvageau. 

The suit claims that "Pillsbury had no connection to that individual's [Whitehouse's] actions that night" other than leaving the meeting room at the same time.  As Pillsbury left the room, the suit alleges that Eckstrom speaking into her microphone, "asked whether that 'woman' was the one with the husband who was cheating on her and that the woman should 'check' her own house."  The suit claims the statement was "unprovoked and unwarranted...false and made with malice."