Maine has fortunately not seen the police misconduct experienced by citizens of Minneapolis, where George Floyd was murdered in 2020, touching off worldwide protests and bringing the Black Lives Matter movement to prominence.

Nor has there been anything like last month’s death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, where five officers chased a black suspect, fatally beat him and are now charged with murder.

That does not mean all is well. Maine has the highest rate of officer-involved shootings in New England, and it’s by no means clear the state has an effective review process to assess facts and make appropriate recommendations.

There are two separate reviews by the Attorney General’s office.

Since the 1990s, the first has considered each case to ask one question: Were officers legally justified in employing lethal force? In every single case, now approaching 200, the answer is “yes.” The shooting was justified.

Yet the widely varying circumstances of the shootings, which range from an officer being attacked to a suspect being shot at distances of up to 50 feet, lead to public skepticism, asking whether there could have been a different outcome.

The initial AG review stems from a notorious incident in 1992 when Katherine Hegarty was shot dead by three officers in Somerset County who entered her remote cabin to serve an arrest warrant. Officers had staked out the cabin for hours, and told investigators that when they entered, Hegarty, apparently asleep in a chair, raised a firearm before they fatally shot her.

Then-Attorney General Michael Carpenter strongly criticized the officers and recommended they be fired – they were not – but also found that no laws had been broken.

Interestingly, Janet Mills, who mounted a challenge that year to Carpenter, said the case should have gone to a grand jury. Years later, she became AG herself, then was elected governor.

Following Hegarty’s death, the Legislature wrestled with the deadly force law, but made no substantial changes, instead instituting reviews.

Responding to complaints from critics, who have included several legislators, lawmakers added another layer in 2019, the Deadly Force Review Panel – a 14-member volunteer body with broad experience and expertise.

This panel takes up where the initial review leaves off. It’s empowered to make recommendations, and sometimes does. In 23 cases reviewed dating back to 2017, it has made no findings differing dramatically from the initial review.

In a report released Feb. 7 concerning a non-fatal Augusta shooting on Nov. 24, 2019, it did say police should have identified themselves more clearly before confronting a man who may not have known his house was surrounded.

Another report released the same day documented a more poignant case where many might believe a fatal outcome could have been avoided. A mentally ill homeless man, Eric Porter, had threatened his girlfriend and been pursued by officers near midnight on Feb. 11, 2020, ending at an I-95 exit ramp in Waterville where Porter sat down on a guardrail.

All four officers involved were provisional, meaning not yet fully certified. They attempted non-lethal force, unsuccessfully. After a standoff, Porter, wielding a knife, came down the slope and was shot fatally.

A large number of reviews involve mentally ill persons; unlike some other states, Maine doesn’t widely employ mental health professionals to try to de-escalate.

The only related recommendation by the Deadly Force Review Panel was to examine the use of provisional officers.

The reviews are thorough and undoubtedly time-consuming, yet they don’t answer key questions. And because they take so long – sometimes more than three years – they’re of limited value in reassuring the public, or in changing policing.

One might say that Mainers are uneasy about official use of force, but not outraged, which is to the good.

Among the worst recent public policy ideas was to “defund the police,” arising after George Floyd’s death. Most city councils declined to act, but those that did – notably in Austin, Texas and Portland, Oregon – only made the problem worse.

“Defunding” produced staff shortages, resignations, declines in morale and replacement by marginally qualified recruits.

It avoided the hard work that needs to be done: Changing training programs to de-emphasize force, and better integrating law enforcement departments with the communities they serve.

Maine should change its review process to make it more timely and effective. It’s questionable whether the initial “justifiable” review accomplishes anything useful.

Commissioning comprehensive reviews from the currently secondary Deadly Force Panel may require institutional support and possibly paid staff.

Police supporters and critics both have cogent points to make. The Legislature should create a better forum to make sure their concerns are heard and heeded.

Douglas Rooks, a Maine editor, commentator and reporter since 1984, is the author of three books, and is now researching the life and career of a U.S. Chief Justice. He welcomes comment at drooks@tds.net.

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