Racist Rant Against Bikers Caught On Video: Boston Man Arrested

BOSTON, MA — Police arrested a Boston man who was caught on video unloading a racist, expletive-laden rant against two African-Americans who had stopped their motorcycles in his neighborhood.

Paul Sheehan, 54, was arraigned in Dorchester District Court on Monday on a disorderly conduct charge, but could face additional hate crime charges as police investigate, The Dorchester Reporter which first reported the story.

On Friday night, two black motorcyclists pulled over near the corner of Adams and Chelmsford streets to figure out which way to go after a police detour. Within minutes a man started yelling at them, prompting NeNe Judge'Mayo to pull out her phone and start recording him.

The video, posted on Facebook over the weekend (see below), had nearly 20,000 shares as of Wednesday morning.

Sign up for the free newsletter and get more breaking Boston news and news alerts like this direct to your inbox.

It shows Sheehan screaming at the woman, shouting expletives and asking why she is in "his" neighborhood, and her shouting back that she can ride her bike wherever she wants. Sheehan is then seen walking off to get a police officer who was nearby, apparently helping with a detour after a hit-and-run accident.

In the video, the officer urges the man to calm down and go home.

"Ask her. Ask her where she lives," Sheehan says, to which the officer replies, "I don't care where she lives. It's none of my business where she lives. Now go home."

The officer is seen keeping himself between the man and the woman and shepherding the man away.

"Sir, you go back there I'm going to lock you up," the officer says. "You're out of control."

Judge'Mayo said she was relieved when the officer arrived.

"I was like, 'Word, the police is here," she told Patch.

'It could happen to anyone':

Judge'Mayo told Patch that when she and her husband stopped and pulled their bikes (she rides a Suzuki, he rides a Yamaha Vstar) out of traffic, they wondered at first who Sheehan was yelling at. When they realized he was yelling at them, she pulled out her cellphone.

"I literally did nothing wrong," said the woman, who is in school for construction management. "I'm in shock.'

Mayo, who grew up in Jamaica Plain and then moved to Roslindale, said she'd never experienced overt racism to this level before.

"It could really happen to anyone," she said Wednesday. "All I did was pull over. I didn't have loud music. I wasn't parked in anyone's driveway.... You know you try not to rub people the wrong way, but you don't have to be doing anything."

She said she'd seen incidents of racism online, of course, and always thought she'd know what to do when it happened to her, but it didn't go to script, she said.

"You're so nervous, everything goes right out the window," she said. "This is nothing you can be prepared for."

Boston police later arrested Sheehan. And BPD's Civil Rights Division is investigating what happened as a potential hate crime, according to Officer Steven McNulty.

Judge'Mayo said police took her statement Tuesday and she plans to press further charges.

The incident has put her on edge when it comes to riding her bike around the city. But she is also encouraged by responses on her Facebook page from people all over the country. Some people who live on the street where the confrontation occurred have reached out to tell her she can park her bike in front of their house any time.

"The support from all over the country is real nice," Judge'Mayo said. "I didn't think it was going to take off like this. I just wanted people to know that racism is real and you don't even have to do nothing." Judge'Mayo told Patch.

Sheehan works for Keolis, the company that operates the MBTA commuter rail.

“As a local employer and a company providing a service to the public, we have absolutely no tolerance for this type of reprehensive conduct or language in or outside the workplace,” said Keolis spokesman Justin Thompson said in an emailed statement to Patch. “The matter is under investigation and we don’t comment on personnel matters.”

Here's the video that's been shared more than 20,000 times. Warning: This contains lots of strong language:

Sign up for the free newsletter and get more breaking Boston news and news alerts like this direct to your inbox.

Photo courtesy NeNe Judge'Mayo