Summary/Abstract

Michael Sauschuck, Portland Maine police chief, discusses the impact that drug overdoses have had on the City of Portland. He declares the drug war as a miserabe failure. "This is a publice health crisis that is wiping out an entire generation"

Content

As a cop, Michael Sauschuck didn't always see drug-related deaths as human so much as an aggregate of numbers. In this personal talk, Sauschuck shares how he became increasingly disillusioned with the efficacy of the War on Drugs and the futility of trying to arrest our way out of drug trade problems. As a Police Chief, he now proposes a more humanistic approach to the individuals facing drug addiction, and offers some of his insights on these issues from a public official's viewpoint. Michael Sauschuck has been with the Portland Police Department for nineteen years. Early in his career, Sauschuck spent five years in the Marines, ultimately attaining the rank of Sergeant. In March of 2011, then Lieutenant Sauschuck was selected as the department’s Assistant Chief, where he served as the department's second-in-command and directly oversaw criminal investigations, uniformed operations, and emergency communications. He was selected as the department’s permanent Chief in January of 2012. In October of 2012, Sauschuck attended the FBI National Academy for Law Enforcement Leaders. He has worked in a variety of specialties including the crisis intervention team, special reaction team, and as a field training officer. Sauschuck also spent time as a Special Agent with Maine Drug Enforcement and as a Supervisory Special Agent supervising the Cumberland County Task Force. Sauschuck holds a BA in Criminology from the University of Maine.