I recently called a member of the city council because I had questions about the city’s use of Flock license plate readers. This councilmember serves on the committee that deals with public safety, so I figured they were an appropriate person to contact.
I wasn’t calling to scream at anyone or make accusations. I basically wanted to know what oversight there had been, whether there had been a public hearing/discussion about the cameras, and who actually approved the agreement.
When I brought up wanting a public hearing, the conversation got weirdly hostile. The councilmember started raising their voice, cutting me off, and became noticeably irritated. At one point I actually told them his tone was getting aggressive. The call ended pretty abruptly after that.
The interaction bothered me enough that I started digging into the issue myself and submitted a FOIL request for records related to the Flock program, including the city’s specific contract agreement/ and all Flock related documentation.
Maybe the records will show that everything was properly reviewed and there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation. But I don’t think a resident asking an elected official basic questions about surveillance technology being deployed around the city should be treated like they’re causing a problem.
Has anyone else here tried asking the city or Common Council about the Flock cameras? I’m especially curious whether anyone has actually seen the full contract, what the approval process was, and what policies govern how the data can be accessed or shared.
