SOUTH PORTLAND — The South Portland Police Department released video footage Wednesday of a May 13 incident near Deering High School in Portland.
The footage shows officers detaining juveniles while executing a search and arrest warrant for a burglary suspect on Orkney Street.
Police handcuffed and searched one juvenile who matched the suspect’s description and briefly detained others in a vehicle.
Officers determined within two minutes that the juvenile was not the suspect and released him and the others.
The entire interaction lasted about five minutes.
The videos, including body camera and dashboard camera footage, are available at southportland.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=366.
The city initially denied Freedom of Access Act requests for the footage, citing privacy exemptions under Maine law.
After revisiting the requests, the city attorney worked with the juveniles’ families to address privacy concerns and coordinated with Portland Police to redact personally identifiable information.
South Portland Police Chief Dan Ahern said the officers acted appropriately given the circumstances and quickly resolved the situation.
The suspect was arrested later that day.
