Maximus, a Belgian Malinois, is a recent addition to the Sanford police force, along with his handler, Officer Jonathan Cotton.
Photo: Sanford Police Department
By Renée Morin
The Sanford Police Department introduced two recent additions to the force at the Aug. 19 City Council meeting. Officer Jonathan Cotton comes to Sanford from Biddeford, with almost seven years of experience. Through grant funding, the city has obtained its second officer and Jonathan’s partner, Maximus, the 1½-year-old Belgian Malinois. Originally from the nation of Poland, Maximus ended up in Florida before finding his forever home in Maine.
According to Cotton, Maximus is certified in agility, obedience, article searches, tracking people, building searches, and apprehension of criminals. Maximus has deployed around 10 times, or once a week since he joined the force. He has conducted some tracking attempts, an article search, and criminal apprehensions.
“He’s done his job so far, and we’re pretty happy with him at this point.” said Cotton. He also describes Maximus as a “very sweet dog” when off the clock, but one who can get his work done while on duty.
In response to a question, Cotton said that Maximus does not yet have a safety vest, but that the organization Maine Vest a Dog has raised money for one. Since the dog is not fully mature yet, Cotton is waiting a few months to allow Maximus to gain more weight before they size him for a vest. The Sanford PD has one police car outfitted to transport the dog, along with a backup crate that can be loaded into the other vehicles.
In other business at its Aug. 19 meeting:
Family Warming Shelter
The city is hoping to operate a family warming center at 49 Riverside Ave. using grant money from the Maine State Housing Authority. If the grant is awarded, the city will act as a pass-through entity for the funds to York County Shelter Program. York County Shelter Program employees will run the shelter from mld-November to the end of April.
Nancy LeBrun’s retirement
The city recognized the retirement of administrative professional Nancy LeBrun from the Department of Public Works after 32 years of service. The city capped off the recognition of her service by presenting LeBrun with the key to the Public Works Department.
Economic development quarterly report
Executive Director Keith McBride, and Small Business Advocate Mary Hastings of the Sanford Regional Economic Growth Council presented the Growth Council’s quarterly report. Currently the council is engaged in a three-year work plan focused on marketing Sanford to potential businesses, monitoring tax increment financing, and determining the fiscal impact of economic development on the city, such as larger multi-family development vs. more rural development. McBride also reported that the subdivision on Eagle Drive received final approval. Stenton Mill also has a developer on board with a purchase and sale agreement with the sewer district.
Hastings discussed some of the recent small business projects she had worked on, including the Meeting Grounds Cafe and Azul Agave Mexican restaurant. Other businesses like a Mediterranean restaurant and an authentic Indian restaurant are also potentially in the works. Hastings says that the main barrier to development is staffing shortages in the Codes and Planning departments. She says there are also some changes that could be made to processes so they run smoother. The Trust Building and Garnsey Brothers Insurance have both received facade grants and are currently being worked on. Facade Grant money has also been set aside for the Main Street Marketplace (formerly the Midtown Mall). There is an additional $25,000 that several potential applicants have already expressed interest in.
Friends of Downtown are in the final stages of their three years long Heart & Soul project, in which they’ve been putting together statements about Sanford from the community. In about a week the Friends of Downtown will put out the action items people submitted of how the city can act on those statements. The public will then have 30 days to comment on which actions they would like to be prioritized. That feedback will then be compiled into a document to be submitted to the City Council. The Growth Council is also looking at potentially applying to the Main Street Maine program next year.
Flock Cameras
Springvale resident and criminal defense attorney Dagan VanDemark expressed concern over license plate reader cameras being offered to the city by Flock Safety. The cameras, used by some police departments to track vehicles and help with investigations, would be installed for a trial period.
VanDemark described the cameras as a “major, unjustifiable invasion of privacy,” and said they could amount to “functionally tracking residents without a warrant.” VanDemark also brought up concerns about the lack of safeguards to make sure the information gathered by the cameras wasn’t misused, and the lack of control that the police department would have over the information’s usage in things like immigration enforcement. They also cast doubt on the effectiveness of the cameras in stopping crime. VanDemark says that the evidence presented by Flock Safety proved correlation, not causation in crime reductions, and does not account for other efforts taken by the city to tackle crime. They are concerned about the use of AI by Flock Safety to “generate suspicion” based on someone’s movements. VanDemark thinks cameras like these will scare off businesses, will desensitize people to violations of their privacy, and that they aren’t necessary in Maine given the level of crime.
There will be a public hearing on this issue on Sept. 9, at 11 am.
The full City Council meeting can be found on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/live/dmhTIuB_ln8?si=TDrglI0mmQZm4kfH
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