AUGUSTA —Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, has been appointed by Attorney General Janet Mills to serve on a task force to analyze police officers’ use of deadly force in Maine and find ways to reduce these incidents.
The 13-member group of experts is tasked with looking for
trends in police shootings in an effort to find ways to prevent fatalities.
Often these incidents involve drug abuse, domestic violence, mental health
issues and other complicating factors. The task force will meet regularly and
analyze police files in order to determine how to better prepare police for
situations that may turn deadly.
“I appreciate the Attorney General’s thoughtful
approach to this issue,” said Sen. Diamond. “Police officers have an
incredibly difficult and dangerous job. As a member of the Legislature’s
Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, I am eager to do anything I can
to better protect our officers and the people they serve. I look forward to
beginning this important work.”
There have been 53 officer-involved shootings in Maine from
2012 through 2017. The task force will meet for an undetermined length of time
in order to develop and present recommendations to the Attorney General. Other
members include Rep. Patrick W. Corey, Lt. John Cote of the Maine State Police,
Assistant Attorney General John Alsop, and Debra Baeder, a state forensic
examiner.
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