See the Maine police oversight bills and who's supporting and opposing them - Bangor Daily News
See the Maine police oversight bills and who's supporting and opposing them - Bangor Daily News |
| See the Maine police oversight bills and who's supporting and opposing them - Bangor Daily News Posted: 25 Apr 2021 10:00 PM PDT  Join us at 6 p.m., Thursday, April 29, as Bangor Daily News Maine Focus editor Erin Rhoda and reporter Callie Ferguson sit down with Sen. Lisa Keim, R-Dixfield; Rep. Jeffrey Evangelos, I-Friendship; and Rep. Charlotte Warren, D-Hallowell. They'll discuss law enforcement oversight and the bills that are being crafted in Maine amid a national examination of policing. Click here to register: tinyurl.com/lawmakerforum In April, Maryland lawmakers passed bills that mandate the use of police body-worn cameras statewide and limit police officers' use of search warrants without first announcing their presence. As the first state to have a Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, lawmakers also made Maryland the first to repeal it, deciding instead to add more civilians to police oversight roles. In March, Kentucky's governor signed a bill that adds more ways for police to have their licenses revoked and protects police agencies that provide internal investigations into officers — even investigations that are incomplete because an officer resigns — to future hiring agencies. Indiana will now require officers to receive training in de-escalation techniques. And Minnesota will require officers to intervene if they see other officers using excessive force and to report what they witnessed in writing within 24 hours. As most states around the country have passed police oversight legislation in the wake of George Floyd's murder by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, Maine's legislative decisions are still to come. As of Friday morning, 44 states had enacted 187 bills relating to police oversight and data, training, standards and certification, use of force, technology and policing alternatives since May 2020, according to a Bangor Daily News analysis of data from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Maine could soon join them. As Maine lawmakers continue crafting and debating bill language this session, Gov. Janet Mills has only begun to sign legislation into law. As of Friday, none of the 29 bills she has signed so far related to law enforcement practices or oversight. But there are a number of proposals on the horizon. They range from protecting police by making punishments harsher for those who commit crimes against law enforcement to ending officers' qualified immunity defense when they commit human rights violations. A couple bills would eliminate the use of no-knock warrants, which gained notoriety when used by three Louisville, Kentucky, police officers to raid the home of Breonna Tayler, where they fatally shot her in her bed. Other bills focus on Maine's police overseer, the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, to give it more power to revoke officers' certifications, expand its committee that looks into whether to decertify officers and install more oversight roles for civilians. Police organizations are so far supporting several bills that would institute more accountability measures, including one to require agencies to release officers' job performance-related records to hiring agencies, another to create a way for the governor to place a sheriff on administrative leave while under investigation, and a third to gather information about the demographics of those they are pulling over for traffic violations. Other bills are proving more controversial, including one to eliminate the Maine State Police's intelligence agency, the Maine Information and Analysis Center, and another to prohibit officers from using minor traffic offenses as a pretext to pull over drivers to investigate something else. Below is a rundown of 24 bills. The descriptions of those supporting and opposing the bills include organizations only, not bill sponsors or individual citizens who have testified for or against the legislation. The descriptions of support and opposition are also not always complete as some testimony was not available. The bills are described as they currently appear on http://legislature.maine.gov/. They will likely be amended in the coming days and weeks as the Legislature holds more public hearings and work sessions to settle differences and cement details. Sponsored by Sen. Harold Stewart, R-Presque Isle This bill would make it possible to sentence defendants for hate crimes when they commit a crime against law enforcement officers. It would also provide $1 million annually to the Maine Department of Education for anti-drug programs. Testimony: Public hearing not yet scheduled. Sponsored by Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville Current law on sentencing in criminal cases allows for consideration of bias against certain populations, based on characteristics such as race, religion, sex, disability and sexual orientation. This bill adds employment as a law enforcement officer to the list. Testimony: Public hearing scheduled for 9 a.m., Thursday, April 29 LD 1171: An Act To Prohibit No-knock Warrants Sponsored by Rep. Justin Fecteau, R-Augusta This bill would require police, prior to forcibly entering a location that is the subject of a search warrant, to announce themselves and the purpose for which the warrant was issued. The requirement does not apply if giving notice would create an imminent risk of death or bodily harm to officers or others. Officers who violate the requirement would be committing a Class E misdemeanor crime. Testimony: Public hearing scheduled for 10 a.m., Monday, April 26 LD 1127: An Act to Prohibit the Use of "No-knock" Warrants" Sponsored by Rep. Amy Roeder, D-Bangor This bill would prohibit the use of no-knock warrants and also prohibit law enforcement officers or others from helping with the execution of federal no-knock warrants. Officers who violate the prohibition would commit a Class E crime and be subject to a mandatory sentence of six months in jail. Testimony: Public hearing scheduled for 10 a.m., Monday, April 26 LD 1043: An Act Concerning the Unannounced Execution of Search Warrants Sponsored by Rep. David McCrea, D-Fort Fairfield This bill would require law enforcement agencies to adopt written policies regarding the unannounced execution of search warrants. The policies would have to meet minimum standards adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. Testimony: Public hearing scheduled for 10 a.m., Monday, April 26 Sponsored by Sen. David Miramant, D-Camden This bill would require candidates for law enforcement jobs to sign a waiver allowing their prior law enforcement employers to release all performance-related records to the hiring agency. It would require agencies to conduct background checks on officers prior to hiring and forbid an agency from hiring someone who refused to provide the waiver. Support: Maine County Commissioners Association, Maine Chiefs of Police Association, Maine Prosecutors' Association Opposition: LD 573: An Act Concerning Records of the Employment of Law Enforcement Officers and Corrections Officers Sponsored by Rep. Patrick Corey, R-Windham The bill would require law enforcement and corrections officers to sign over their previous personnel and employment records, including any internal investigation records, to an agency looking to hire them. The bill would provide civil and criminal immunity to both the sending and the receiving agency. It would also allow a hiring agency to share troubling polygraph information, obtained during the hiring process, with the officer's current place of employment. Support: Maine Prosecutors' Association, Maine County Commissioners Association, Maine Chiefs of Police Association Opposition: Sponsored by Sen. David Miramant, D-Camden This bill would add three members to the Board of Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy for a total of six members who have never been sworn members of a law enforcement agency. It would also require that any change to the academy's basic law enforcement training program be considered only after public input. Support: Opposition: Maine Department of Public Safety, Maine Chiefs of Police Association LD 400: An Act to Modify the Composition of the Board of Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy Sponsored by Rep. Arthur Bell, D-Yarmouth This bill would expand the Board of Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy from 18 to 19 members by adding a county commissioner who has never been a sworn member of a law enforcement agency. Support: Maine County Commissioners Association Opposition: Maine Department of Public Safety Sponsored by Rep. Lois Galgay Reckitt, D-South Portland This bill would expand the Board of Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy from 18 to 19 members by adding a county commissioner who has never been a sworn member of a law enforcement agency. It would also expand the academy's complaint review committee to five members, up from the current three, and require two of the members to not have law enforcement backgrounds. The committee hears complaints about officer misconduct and recommends punishments to the full board. Support: Maine County Commissioners Association Opposition: Maine Department of Public Safety (but it's in favor of expanding the complaint review committee); the Maine Chiefs of Police Association also favors expanding only the committee. Sponsored by Rep. David McCrea, D-Fort Fairfield The bill would give the academy more authority to rescind officers' credentials should it determine there is sufficient evidence and the behavior is worthy of such action. Support: Maine Department of Public Safety Opposition: Sponsored by Rep. Lori Gramlich, D-Old Orchard Beach This bill would require law enforcement officers to receive training on racial justice, substance use disorders and other social issues. It would also require officers to have an associate degree in criminal justice or a related field. Testimony: Public hearing not yet scheduled. LD 1480: An Act Regarding the Review of Law Enforcement Use of Deadly Force Sponsored by Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland This bill would require the attorney general's office to more quickly complete investigations into officers' use of deadly force, submitting its findings to the state's Deadly Force Review Panel within 180 days. If the attorney general can't meet the deadline, it would have to tell the panel why and provide a summary of the investigation up until that point. It would also exempt video recordings of police use of force from the statutory definition of "intelligence and investigative record information," which keeps material confidential. Testimony: Public hearing not yet scheduled Sponsored by Sen. Matthea Daughtry, D-Brunswick This bill would require a school resource officer to complete diversity, equity and inclusion training or implicit bias training at least once during that officer's first year of employment. Support: Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, Maine Education Association, Maine School Management Association Opposition: Sponsored by Rep. Charlotte Warren, D-Hallowell The bill would reduce the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency's budget by $3 million and instead spend the $3 million on addiction treatment and recovery services. Testimony: Public hearing not yet scheduled LD 417: An Act To Protect Maine's Drivers from Pretextual Traffic Stops Sponsored by Rep. Victoria Morales, D-South Portland This bill would prohibit law enforcement from using minor traffic offenses as a pretext to pull over drivers in order to investigate something else. If officers obtained evidence in violation of this provision, it could not be used in criminal proceedings. Support: Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, HopeGateWay United Methodist Church in Portland Opposition: Maine Municipal Association, Maine Chiefs of Police Association, Maine Sheriffs' Association, Maine State Police and the Department of Public Safety LD 448: An Act Regarding Recording of Witness Interviews Sponsored by Rep. Thom Harnett, D-Gardiner Current law requires that law enforcement agencies adopt written policies for the recording of interviews of suspects in serious crimes. This bill extends that requirement to include recording of interviews of witnesses. Support: Criminal Law Advisory Commission, Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition Opposition: Maine Sheriffs' Association LD 1278: An Act To End the Maine Information Analysis Center Program Sponsored by Rep. Charlotte Warren, D-Hallowell This bill would eliminate funding — about $800,000 in fiscal year 2020-21 and $1 million in 2022-23 — for the Maine Information and Analysis Center. It would cut one state police sergeant position, two state police detective positions, one state police trooper position and two other positions, plus related costs. The so-called fusion center collects and shares intelligence with law enforcement agencies. Support: Behavioral Health Community Collaborative, Say No to NECEC, American Civil Liberties Union of Maine Opposition: Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management, Maine Chiefs of Police Association, Maine Emergency Management Agency, Maine State Police, Maine Department of Public Safety, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Maine Sheriffs' Association Sponsored by Rep. Charlotte Warren, D-Hallowell This bill would repeal the law that requires a criminal justice agency to refuse to confirm the existence or non-existence of confidential intelligence and investigative record information (a so-called Glomar response) if the inquiry comes from a source that is not entitled to receive the information. Support: Criminal Law Advisory Commission Opposition: Maine County Commissioners Association, Maine Sheriffs' Association Sponsored by Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland This bill would require all law enforcement agencies to collect information — on race, color, ethnicity, gender and age — about each person stopped for a traffic violation. Police agencies would give the information to the attorney general's office, which would send a public report on its findings to the Legislature annually. Support: GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, Maine Chiefs of Police Association (qualified support), Maine Prosecutors Association, Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Maine Business Immigration Coalition, American Civil Liberties Union of Maine Opposition: LD 375: An Act To Create Greater Accountability in the Office of County Sheriff Sponsored by Sen. Lisa Keim, R-Dixfield This bill would create procedures for county commissioners to file a complaint in superior court to remove a sheriff for improper, unethical or criminal behavior. If the court finds cause, it would forward the matter to the governor who would be able to place the sheriff on administrative leave with pay and consider the sheriff's removal from office. There is currently no legal way to place a sheriff on administrative leave while he or she is being investigated. Support: Maine County Commissioners Association, American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, Maine Chiefs of Police Association, Maine Sheriffs' Association Opposition: LD 214: An Act to Eliminate Qualified Immunity for Police Officers Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Evangelos, I-Friendship This bill eliminates the ability of police officers to assert a defense of qualified immunity — a judicial doctrine created by the Supreme Court that shields government employees from liability for their misconduct — for civil rights violations. Testimony: Public hearing scheduled for 9 a.m., Thursday, April 29 LD 1416: An Act To Limit Qualified Immunity of Law Enforcement Officers in Maine Civil Rights Act Claims Sponsored by Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth This bill removes the qualified immunity defense for law enforcement officers when their actions violate the Maine Civil Rights Act. Testimony: Public hearing scheduled for 9 a.m., Thursday, April 29 LD 1192: An Act Concerning the Composition of the Criminal Law Advisory Commission Sponsored by Rep. William Tuell, R-East Machias This bill would require an officer from a statewide law enforcement agency and one from a county or municipal law enforcement agency to sit on the Criminal Law Advisory Commission, which provides analysis of criminal laws to the Legislature. Opposition: American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Criminal Law Advisory Commission Support:  |
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