BIDDEFORD — In the minutes following a City Council meeting Monday night, several people gathered on the steps of City Hall, and a few of them bitterly stuck their middle fingers into the air and shouted expletives at Mayor Alan Casavant as he left the building.

The council had just met in executive session for an hour and a half, before resolving not to take “adverse employment action” against the police chief or deputy chief in the wake of sexual abuse allegations against two retired Biddeford police officers.

Similarly, during a public meeting last Thursday, the council heard testimony from Biddeford resident Karl Reed that included swearing and sexually explicit slang. Before leaving the council chambers’ podium, Reed also gave the middle finger to Casavant and other city officials.

This type of behavior has occurred at least three times in and around City Hall in recent weeks, and some of it has been televised on Biddeford Public Access, whose viewership includes many senior citizens as well as children, according to Public Access Director

Steve Pulos.

The live airing of last Thursday’s meeting in particular prompted a handful of residents to contact the station, Pulos said Thursday. They were not outraged themselves by the R-rated broadcast, he said, but rather they were concerned about those who might be. At the same time, he said those people seemed to understand that “it’s a very emotional subject.”

“I have not really heard any big concerns about it,” said Pulos. “I think people understand that it wasn’t a typical situation. I feel pretty confident ­”“ or at least pretty hopeful ”“ that it won’t happen again.”

Allegations of sexual abuse against two former Biddeford police officers surfaced several months ago, after Matt Lauzon, a Boston businessman who grew up in Biddeford, publicly accused former Biddeford Sgt. Stephen Dodd of sexually abusing him as a child.

Several others have since come forward, alleging abuse at the hands of Dodd as well as former Biddeford detective Norman Gaudette. In April, the Maine Attorney General’s Office confirmed it is currently investigating sexual abuse allegations involving a former Biddeford officer and a young teenage boy, but neither party in that investigation has been identified.

For weeks, Lauzon, other alleged victims and their supporters have implored city officials to place Police Chief Roger Beaupre and Deputy Chief JoAnne Fisk on paid administrative leave while the Attorney General’s Office finishes its investigation. Many of those people have further argued that Beaupre, who was in command when much of the abuse allegedly occurred, either knew or should have known what was going on and should therefore be arrested or fired.

The council’s initial indecisiveness regarding that request ”“ and later its decision to not take action against the chiefs, citing a lack of evidence of any wrongdoing ”“ is what, for the most part, has triggered these indignant outbursts from alleged victims and their supporters. But as emotionally jarring as the allegations are, many are now calling for an end to that behavior in favor of more productive, civil dialogue.

When Wallace Nutting was mayor of Biddeford, he fought for civility in city government, and on Friday, the retired four-star U.S. Army general, who now lives in Saco, said he was unhappy to hear what has transpired at recent council meetings.

“I promoted civil discourse and I still do, regardless of the heat of the subject,” said Nutting. “I’ve been disappointed I guess. It has sounded as though the officials who run those meetings haven’t been tight enough. … I still believe firmly in civil discourse and adequately controlling the members present (at council meetings) to preclude that kind of thing.”

Casavant, who has found himself in the crosshairs of much of the dialogue, said Friday that in his decades of public service, he has never before seen behavior like this.

“It’s unacceptable,” he said. “It detracts from the issues. It’s inappropriate, and it creates more problems than anything else. … People are never going to agree on anything but you have to have civilized dialogue because if you lose that, you essentially lose the whole concept of civilized government.”

In an email Friday, Sen. David Dutremble, D-Biddeford, said while he doesn’t favor the outbursts at public meetings, he understands why they happen.

“I believe that meetings need to be controlled for anything positive to happen,” he said. “Screaming and yelling has always proven not to be an effective tool for a greater outcome.”

But Dutremble also pointed to the fact that “certain triggers can affect (abuse victims’) behavior.”

“This trigger can be … the feeling no one is listening,” he said. “Studies show that triggers are a real and uncontrolled thing. So it would be tough for someone that is triggered to control their emotions.”

A large body of scientific evidence supports that claim and the notion that victims of sexual abuse can lose their temper inadvertently.

A 1994 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry “confirmed earlier findings suggesting that sexually abused children are at heightened risk for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder,” and according to the Mayo Clinic’s website, people who suffer from PTSD may be prone to “angry outbursts.”

But the behavior in question has largely come from supporters of the alleged victims, rather than the alleged victims themselves.

In a written statement sent to the Journal Tribune Friday, Mellisa Luedke, who last month successfully petitioned for a public meeting before the council regarding the allegations, said she wishes things “could have been handled differently as far as profanity.” But Luedke, a Biddeford resident, also said she believes city officials are partially to blame for the “bad behavior.”

“I think that we were shocked by (city officials’) choice to not act,” she said. “Every action has a reaction, they say, and the mayor and council have to hold some accountability when it comes to people’s behavior.”

Lauzon has publicly admitted that he has at times let his emotions “get the best of (him),” and that some meetings have gotten out of hand. Lauzon said in an email Thursday that he has already taken action to prevent criticism of how he, other alleged victims and their supporters conduct themselves moving forward.

“I do think it’s very important that everyone, myself included, try to minimize the emotions and focus on the facts,” he said. “I have asked my supporters to do their best to increase their professionalism and I’m personally focused on making sure I get facts out in ways that allow everyone involved to make more informed decisions.”

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].