Police have asked the Portland City Council for permission to purchase a drone, which they say could help with searches for missing people, locating barricaded suspects and reconstructingcrime scenes.
The council’s Health and Human Services and Public Safety Committee approved the purchase during its meeting on Tuesday. The decision to buy a drone still has to be approved by the full city council.
Portland Police Department leaders shared a draft policy outlining a list of situations when officers could use the drone, including high-risk operations, disaster responses, scene reconstructions and searches.
In most cases, the drone won’t be deployed for a criminal investigation without an approved search warrant, according to the draft policy.
Police Maj. Jason King said during the committee meeting Tuesday that the drone would save time in surveying crime and crash scenes. He said officers would adhere to privacy laws.
King pointed to the existing state law for unmanned aerial vehicles, which states that law enforcement agencies can’t use drones for “surveillance of private citizens peacefully exercising their constitutional rights of free speech and assembly.”
Councilor Wes Pelletier said the drone shouldn’t be used at any demonstration and asked when police would consider flying it over protestors in Portland.
Nicole Albert, the department’s legal advisor, said the drone would be used on a “case-by-case basis,” such as if a protest turned violent.
According to city policy, the drone can’t be equipped with facial recognition technology. Police would also be limited in what footage they could record with the drone, especially in areas that are irrelevant to their investigation, according to the draft policy.
In 2024, the Maine Criminal Justice Academy reported that 22 police agencies in the state use drones, including the Windham Police Department, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and Maine State Police.
Portland police are seeking to purchase a drone from technology company Axon, which makes products for the military and law enforcement. The police department’s existing technology, including body and cruiser cameras, and its evidence database are also Axon products.
The up-front cost for the drone and maintenance, which totals $45,316, would be paid for with federal forfeiture funds, according to an estimate shared with the committee by the police department.