PORTLAND, Maine — As lawmakers in Washington get back to work, there’s a push in Congress by some to crack down on an obscure program that gives surplus military equipment to local police departments, including many in Maine.
The Department of Defense 1033 Program first came under fire when video surfaced in Ferguson, Missouri, after the shooting death of a teen. A militarized police force was seen responding to violent protests with assault weapons, riot gear and tear gas.
CBS 13 spent weeks digging through records obtained from the Department of Defense Logistics Agency. Our analysis found surplus military equipment has been sent to law enforcement agencies in every Maine county adding up to more than $11 million. That has some saying this program is out of control.
A bulletproof, mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle, designed for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, is the newest piece of equipment in the crime fighting arsenal in Cumberland County, valued at about $700,000.
Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce got it free from the military surplus property program. The vehicle Joyce wanted to buy was smaller and cost less, but it wasn’t in the budget.
“I’ve been up front I saved taxpayers $250,00. I got what I needed, beyond what I need. The [mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle] is overkill, quite frankly, but it’s going to protect my officers, my deputies if they need protection,” Joyce said.
Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck said in September his department’s military surplus inventory includes two armored vehicles — a 1981 Peacekeeper and a 2012 Bearcat — as well as 30 M-16 rifles, two M-14 rifles and 20 red dot scopes.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office is getting its new vehicle painted to make it look less military-like, but critics say giving military equipment to local police departments is unnecessary and dangerous.
“We don’t want to see our police community treating citizens like military combatants; police are here to make community safer not treat neighborhoods like war zones,” said Alison Beyea, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine.
The American Civil Liberties Union is calling on Congress to shut down the program while it’s under review.
Nearly 200 departments across the country have been suspended from the program for not following the rules or for losing track of equipment. CBS 13 found the South Berwick Police Department is one of those departments.
“There’s been some confusion on paperwork,” Chief Dana Lajoie said.
Records show this small town department has been getting big time equipment from the military for more than a decade, from military rifles to sweaters. Lajoie said the suspension is tied to night vision goggles the department acquired from the program. The rules say weapons, vehicles and night vision gear need to be inventoried and reported yearly.
“If those are required to be accountable by serial number — the problem is serial numbers are not legible, how can we show a chain of custody via serial number?” Lajoie said.
Even with this problem with the program, Lajoie, like Joyce, stands by his department’s involvement and the surplus equipment he’s received.
The Department of Defense told CBS 13 the matter involving the South Berwick Police Department is still under investigation. Meanwhile, a congressional Homeland Security Committee has already had one public hearing to listen to concerns about the program.
“I question whether state and local law enforcement agencies need this kind of equipment and certainly whether they need it more than our states’ national guards,” Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, said during the September hearing.
Congress authorized this program in the 1990s but is considering scaling it back.