Published October 21, 2010

Howard Friedman, the Boston civil-rights lawyer, told WBUR he recently got a call from Lisa Allen out of the blue — he hadn’t heard from her in some 15 years, when he represented her in a civil suit against the Wareham Police Department.

Candidate Jeff Perry (AP)

“She just felt she couldn’t remain silent anymore,” Friedman said on Morning Edition.

Allen settled the case out of court. Yesterday, she dropped a political bombshell when she broke a long silence to condemn Jeff Perry, a Republican running to represent the 10th Congressional district.

In 1991, Perry was a Wareham police sergeant. He supervised a police officer who later pleaded guilty to illegally strip-searching Allen, who was 14 at the time.

“(Perry) had to hear me screaming and crying,” she said in the statement.

Why does Allen speak now, with less than two weeks before a close election? Did Perry’s Democratic rival, William Keating, play any part?

“Lisa has been under pressure from the press, who’ve been contacting her, and from her family to make a statement,” Friedman said.

“This has upset her from that time to this time. Seeing this story in the press is upsetting. Seeing that Jeff Perry has not really admitted what happened is upsetting to her.”

Make no mistake, Friedman said: Lisa Allen wants Perry to lose the election.

Keating said he has had no contact with Allen, and a campaign spokesman said no one has had any contact with anyone connected to Allen.

Records show Friedman, the lawyer, has donated money to Democratic campaigns and causes. Friedman said the implication is “outrageous,” noting that he has represented Ralph Nader, “who, I can tell you, the Democrats do not like.”

Perry was never disciplined or charged in the 1991 incident. “I heard nothing that night, and if I did, I would have acted right away,” Perry said yesterday.

Editor’s note: I have changed the headline — which was previously phrased as a question — to avoid the suggestion that I’m drawing a conclusion or taking sides.