The Portland Police Department is seeking approval from the Portland City Council to purchase a $39,000 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), or drone, for use in search and rescue operations, accident reconstructions, and during the execution of high-risk warrants.
Portland Police Chief Mark Dubois presented the department’s proposal to the Portland City Council’s Health and Human Services and Public Safety Committee on Tuesday.
According to Chief Dubois, the request comes due to the Portland Police Department being “significantly understaffed.”
“In order to maintain public safety in an efficient manner, it is imperative that we utilize
technology to the fullest extent,” Dubois wrote in a memo to the committee.
Portland Police have previously requested drones via Mutual Aid from surrounding communities for use during search and rescue operations, during motor vehicle accident reconstruction, and for high-risk warrant applications.
Purchasing the drone, according to Dubois, would help police search land, the coast line, and waterways much faster and more efficiently than with personnel.
Dubois told the committee on Tuesday that Portland Police has previously used drones successfully in several search and rescue operations, including to safely locate a suicidal person who had walked to a remote location in the woods.
The drone would also be used to assist the department in plotting the scenes of traffic accidents in a faster manner, allowing for roadways to be reopened to the public more quickly.
For high-risk warrants in cases where there is a barricaded suspect, the drone would be sent to search interior spaces before sending in officers.
“This creates a significant tactical advantage for officers and alleviates the need to put personnel in extremely dangerous situations,” Dubois wrote.
The UAS system the department is looking to purchase is estimated to cost $39,000, and would be bought from the Axon Corporation, which currently is the vendor for the department’s body cameras and in-car camera systems.
The $39,000 to acquire the drone would be taken from the department’s asset forfeiture funds.
Alongside the department’s proposal for acquiring the drone is a draft of guidelines which would regulate how and when the drone would be used, in accordance with Maine state law and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations.
The proposed Portland Police UAS guidelines would require that the drone be operated by a department employee who is an FAA-certified drone pilot, and that a warrant be obtained before the drone could be used for a criminal investigation.
The drone pilot would also be prohibited from intentionally recording images of a location where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a inside a home or a fenced yard.
Although the draft guidelines state that the drone must not be used to conduct “random surveillance” on citizens exercising their constitutionally protected rights to free speech and assembly, one of the “permissible uses” outlined in the document is
“real time monitoring of mass gatherings for situational awareness and to ensure the safety of participants.”
Other provisions included in the department’s proposed guidelines include prohibitions on weapons, thermal imaging, facial recognition, and night vision or high powered zoom lenses being attached to the drone.
City Councilor Victoria Pelletier expressed concerns over privacy related to the proposal, saying “there is a level of concern just from the perspective of our community, and the narrative of this ‘big brother’ eye in the sky concept that the drone can be is definitely worrisome for certain members of our community.”
“I think even if it’s not the intent, I think the infringement on people’s privacy feels like it could cause issues,” Pelletier said, adding that she’s concerned it might be “step A” in what could come “as technology becomes more advanced.”
The proposal to acquire the drone will go before the committee for a public hearing in September, and if approved will advance to the full City Council for final approval in October.
Portland Mayor Mark Dion said that if the proposal comes before the full City Council, he could support it due it being a “reasonable acquisition of important equipment,” but that he shares Councilor Pelletier’s concerns related to privacy.
“This sense that they could come in and look above me into my private yard bothers me,” Dion said. “And we can have all the legal basis to do that, but I’m just saying that’s where the pushback will come from.”
Committee Chair and At-Large City Councilor April Fournier requested that Portland Police prepare a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document regarding their proposed drone policy written in plain language for the public prior to their September meeting.
Monitor large gatherings?
Like that’s all that will happen. Everything govt does expands to out of control sizes.
Watched drones blow up a soilder in Ukerain, the most frieghting thing ever saw, Couldn’t run. hide or surrender, just die. These things are largest threat to freedom ever invented
Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department already has a drone that they use for monitoring crowds. They used it on July 4th in Naples.
This is the tack of fascists and tyrants! Maine is becoming a police state.
@beachmom how’s your trap shooting skills ?🤠💪🇺🇸
100% This will be abused by the police to the fullest extent.
The drone pilot would also be prohibited from intentionally recording images of a location where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a inside a home or a fenced yard.
YA RIGHT
Monitor large gatherings, You can damn sure bet it will only be used on pro-life, Christians, and conservatives.
Hell no……You’re short on money? Stop paying to house illegal immigrants and drug addicts!
Portland is the cesspool of Maine!
All the sh!t in Maine flows there and collects to percalate! The overflow goes to Augusta!
We all see what Augusta is full of right now!
Don’t defund the police — but DO demilitarize them.