Unmarked Vehicle Data, Policies, Reporting, Use (Portland Police Department)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Maine Freedom of Access Act, I hereby request the following records regarding the use and reporting of use of unmarked vehicles by representatives and employees of this agency:

POLICY
All policies, statutes, and guidance used to govern the use of unmarked vehicles or any other vehicle used or in the possession of this agency that is not clearly and obviously marked as a law enforcement vehicle.

Please include all policies regarding access to such vehicles, use of the vehicles, internal reporting requirements when such vehicles are used, and external reporting requirements.

FORMS and GUIDANCE
A blank version of all forms and logs used by this agency in relation unmarked vehicles, including all those used to track use, damage, and the inventory of vehicles.

DATA
All available data, reports, audits, and other aggregated information regarding this agency’s inventory and use of unmarked vehicles for the period from January 1, 2015 through July 31, 2020.

OTHER
In the initial acknowledgement letter from your agency, if you could please include an indication of whether your agency does use unmarked vehicles in some form, that would be appreciated.

For reference, here are examples of the kinds of materials that would be responsive to this request:
• Pennsylvania state statute (http://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pabull?file=/secure/pabulletin/data/vol35/35-2/55.html);
• opinion of the Wisconsin Attorney General (https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/misc/oag/archival/_293/_1/_16);
• Orlando Police Department policy (https://www.orlando.gov/files/sharedassets/public/documents/opd/policies-and-procedures/police-operations/1132.3-response-to-calls-traffic-stops-by-unmarked-police-vehicles.pdf);
• Howard County, Maryland Internal Audit Report of Police Take-Home Vehicle Program Audit - May 2018 (https://cc.howardcountymd.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=xwqgv-M7q9g%3D&tabid=132&portalid=0)
• Minneapolis’s Daily Activity Report (MP-3006) and Equipment Work Order Log (MP-5400)

If any portion of materials responsive to this request should be deemed unavailable or non-disclosable, please specifically identify the portions of the records or the specific information that is unavailable and the reason for the unavailability.

If any portion of this request is unclear or if this request could be modified to reduce the burden of producing responsive documents or provide them more efficiently or expeditiously, please reply with a request for clarification or a proposed modification.

This request is being made by a reporter as part of a journalistic investigation. It is being submitted as part of a project to better understand uses of police force nationwide, which has been of public interest for many years and which is of particular interest to large new swaths of the public following the widely-seen death of George Floyd and the First Amendment-protected demonstrations and public discussion that have followed.

In the event that there are fees appropriately assessed in association with this request, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.

I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Beryl Lipton