BANGOR, Maine — Sunday will mark 40 years since Charlie Howard was killed in Bangor.
On July 7, 1984, Howard was walking down State Street with his boyfriend when three teenagers pulled over, shouted homophobic slurs, and began beating him. The three boys then threw Howard over the State Street bridge railing into the Kenduskeag Stream despite his screams about his inability to swim, and he drowned.
Following the crime, the three boys were arrested and charged with murder. The state tried them as juveniles and they were sentenced to a juvenile detention center. Now, all three walk free.
The Bangor community's eyes were opened that day to violence being targeted against homosexuals.
Howard's death sparked so much attention that it was even drawn upon in the movie adaptation of Stephen King's "It: Chapter Two."
The scene involves a gay character named Adrian Mellon, who is being attacked by teenagers, and his subsequent encounter with Pennywise the Clown.
Former Bangor Police Chief Ron Gastia, who was a young police officer at the time of Howard's killing, said the police department was unaware of this targeting. Gastia added that many people at that time hid their sexuality.
As a result of Howard's death, the police department began a covert operation in downtown Bangor. Gastia spent a week walking around downtown in civilian clothes, watching for harassment. He said within just 20 minutes of his assignment, a car passed by yelling slur words at him.
The Bangor Police Department then increased patrols and started paying closer attention to these types of crimes.
Many people's feelings of anger or being hurt rose to the surface after Howard's death, too.
Gastia recalled a group of about 200 people who protested outside the police station asking for officers to end the violence.
Over the past four decades, Charlie Howard's story sheds light on how far the city has come but also reminds residents there is still progress to be made.
There is now a rainbow-painted crosswalk and a memorial in his honor.
On July 7, 2014, Bangor declared July 7 would be "Tolerance Day" in memory of Howard's death.
Now, the Unitarian-Universalist Society of Bangor holds a sermon every year in his honor. The sermon focuses not on the tragedy, but on what lessons can be learned from it.
This year's sermon will be held at 10 a.m. at 120 Park St. in Bangor. After the service, community members will walk down to the State Street bridge to remember Howard.