Maine Marine Resources Patrol Mistakenly Orders $8,000 Worth of Ammunition, Decides to Keep it

The law enforcement division of the Maine Department of Marine Resources recently mistakenly ordered over $8,000 worth of ammunition, but decided the tens of thousands of rounds would be too costly to return, according to public records.

An April 25 Procurement Justification Form (PJF) filed by the Department of Marine Resources states that the Bureau of Maine Patrol purchased twenty-thousand rounds of 9mm training ammunition and ten-thousand rounds of 5.56mm duty ammunition.

The total cost of the purchased ammunition was $8,010.

The Bureau of Marine Patrol is a state law enforcement agency responsible for the enforcement of marine resource conservation laws and regulations in Maine’s coastal areas.

According to the PJF, the Bureau of Marine Patrol recently transitioned their duty handguns and rifles from Glock .40 caliber to Glock 9mm handguns, and to IWI Arms 5.56 rifles.

Justifying the transition, Marine Patrol Captain Colin MacDonald wrote that their issued handguns and rifles were more than ten to twelve years old.

“After testing it was determined that Speer Lawman 53651 9mm and PMC XP 193 5.56 ammunition was best suited for our platforms,” MacDonald wrote, leading to the purchase of the ammunition from New Jersey manufacturer Eagle Point Gun/TJ Morris & Sons.

Although the State of Maine has a “master agreement” with the New Jersey company as a vendor, encompassing the purchase of a “wide variety of ammunition,” the Marine Patrol’s lead firearms instructor mistakenly ordered the $8,010 worth of ammunition, believing it was part of the state’s master agreement.

“When the lead firearms instructor sent the ammunition order to the departmental storehouse manager, he believed that the ammunition he was ordering (20,000 rounds of 53,651 practice ammunition and 10,000 rounds of XP 193 practice ammunition) was included in the master agreement with Eagle Point Gun/TJ Morris & Sons,” MacDonald wrote.

“Upon receipt of the invoice, it was noticed that the ammunition we purchased was not listed on the master agreement with this company,” he wrote.

According to MacDonald, the return of the mistakenly purchased ammunition “would be extremely costly and the turnaround timeframe would not align with the required departmental spring qualifications.”

That said, MacDonald wrote that the Maine Marine Patrol will ensure future purchases of ammunition “will be in line with a master agreement,” and that they will only purchase items listed on that master agreement.