PORTLAND – The ACLU of Maine and affiliates in 22 other states today filed simultaneous public records requests to determine the extent to which local police departments are using federally subsidized military technology and tactics that are traditionally used overseas.
“There is an increasing and frightening nationwide trend toward turning our police departments into fully militarized, weaponized units,” said Zachary Heiden, legal director of the ACLU of Maine. “Policing should be about protecting our communities, not about making our neighborhoods feel like combat zones.”
The ACLU of Maine filed records requests with the Maine State Police SWAT and the Southern Maine Police SWAT, seeking information regarding:
SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) Teams, including:
- Number and purpose of deployments
- Types of weapons used during deployments
- Injuries sustained by civilians during deployments
- Training materials
- Funding sources
Cutting edge weapons and technologies, including:
- GPS tracking devices
- Unmanned aerial vehicles (“drones”)
- Augmented detainee restraint (“shock-cuffs”)
- Military weaponry, equipment, and vehicles obtained from or funded by federal agencies such as the Departments of Defense and/or Homeland Security
The ACLU also filed a records request with the Maine National Guard, seeks information regarding:
- Cooperative agreements between local police departments and the National Guard counter-drug program
- Incidents of National Guard contact with civilians
“Equipping state and local law enforcement with military weapons and vehicles, military tactical training, and actual military assistance to conduct traditional law enforcement erodes civil liberties and encourages increasingly aggressive policing, particularly in poor neighborhoods and communities of color,” said Kara Dansky, senior counsel for ACLU’s Center for Justice. “We’ve seen examples of this in several localities, but we don’t know the dimensions of the problem.”
Once the information has been collected and analyzed, if needed, the ACLU will use the results to recommend changes in law and policy governing the use of military tactics and technology in local law enforcement.
The ACLU of Maine’s records requests can be found online at: www.aclumaine.org/militarization
More information about the nationwide project is at: www.aclu.org/militarization
