Mayor Mitchell Slams ‘Rushed’ New Bedford City Council Vote on Automated License Plate Readers

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — The New Bedford City Council’s Committee on Ordinances moved forward a proposed ordinance Tuesday night that would place strict limits on the use of Automated License Plate Reader technology in the city, but Mayor Jon Mitchell said the council has “rushed into things” and questioned the way the ordinance was rolled out.

The committee voted 8-3 to refer the ordinance out of committee and to the full city council for consideration. Councilors at Large Naomi Carney and Brian Gomes, as well as Ward 3 Councilor Shawn Oliver, voted against the motion, each saying there was no reason to move so quickly and that time should be taken to go over the proposed ordinance more thoroughly.

Councilor at Large Shane Burgo, the chair of the Committee on Ordinances, is the one who proposed the ordinance and acknowledged in a press release Wednesday how quickly it was moving forward.

READ MORE: Councilor Burgo's Press Release on ALPR Ordinance Vote

“I recognize that the speed with which this ordinance was introduced may appear unusual, and I apologize to my colleagues for what may feel like a rushed process,” he said. “But while the process moved quickly, the thought behind this ordinance did not.”

“This legislation was developed with everyone in mind: our residents, our police officers, our administration, our city council and every stakeholder who will be affected by this technology,” Burgo said.

Burgo pointed out that the ordinance would not say “never” to technology such as Flock cameras, but instead is saying “not now,” “or at least not in the way this technology currently operates and was implemented,” he said.

“Ordinarily, I would expect an ordinance like this to spend more time in committee so that we could work collaboratively with the administration and other stakeholders to address concerns and strengthen the legislation,” he said. “However, the Mitchell Administration has already made clear that it has no interest in establishing this type of legislative framework and has indicated that it will oppose legislation of this nature.”

“I therefore did not believe it was responsible to hold this ordinance back simply to create the appearance of collaboration when the administration has already made its position clear,” Burgo said.

Fallout From Recent New Bedford Police Department Audits

Currently, New Bedford Police Chief Jason Thody has turned off the Flock cameras operated by his department and has laid out a proposed set of guardrails for their future use, and is asking for public input via an online survey.

He ordered an audit of the Flock system and the data collected after an officer was accused of misusing the technology for personal use; the audit actually found another officer who had allegedly done the same. Thody has recommended they both be terminated.

READ MORE: New Bedford Police Seek Public Input on Flock Future After Officers Allegedly Misuse the Technology

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The Push for Strict Surveillance Limits in New Bedford

Burgo’s ordinance seeks to prohibit the City of New Bedford or any of its agencies or departments from utilizing, purchasing, leasing, or otherwise acquiring ALPR or Mass Location-Tracking Technology. It also prohibits City funds from being used for such technologies.

Any existing contracts would not be renewed, and should be terminated “to the extent legally permissible.” The mayoral administration must also provide the city council with written notice of its termination and/or non-renewal.

Any future attempts to deploy, acquire or renew such technology would also require a public hearing, a written assessment of its impact on privacy and civil liberties, public disclosure of the location of all devices, and approval by the city council.

READ MORE: New Bedford's Complete Proposed ALPR Ordinance

The ordinance also spells out what must be required regarding retention of the data the technology acquires, and what the vendor can do with that data, including prohibiting it from providing it to third-party vendors, federal agencies, private entities or others.

The ordinance also requires an audit of the system and the data collected at least annually. Chief Thody told the Committee on Ordinances that he would prefer it to be done monthly so as not to be so time-consuming with so much data to review.

“At its core, this ordinance is about accountability,” Burgo said. “If New Bedford is going to use powerful surveillance technology, there should be clear rules governing how it is acquired, how it is used, what information is collected, who can access it, how long that information is retained and what oversight exists.”

Burgo has questioned the process by which the Mitchell Administration purchased and implemented the Flock system “without the knowledge or involvement of the city council or the public,” he said.

Contributed Photos; Townsquare Media

Mayor Mitchell Fires Back Over 'Rushed' Process

However, Mitchell is accusing the city council of similar tactics in its quest to pass an ordinance regarding them.

“I don’t know what they did last night. I guess there was an ordinance approved. It wasn’t on the agenda as far as I know, I don’t remember seeing the ordinance itself,” Mitchell said in his weekly appearance on WBSM Wednesday. “I guess there was a draft of the ordinance they circulated among themselves, and it hit my desk late last night. I haven’t had a chance to review it. I know it was shared with the police chief and city solicitor not long before they walked into the room.”

Mitchell said thought the motion was not written by anyone on the city council, but that it “came from somewhere else” and he didn’t “know where that somewhere else is.”

“They’ve rushed into things, as sometimes they do, and I think people need to sort of call time out a little bit and think about this stuff,” Mitchell said. “In the meantime, the technology is disabled, and we can have a level-headed discussion about this stuff.”

“There is a need for us to do what we can reasonably to protect the public, and while respecting the public’s reasonable expectation of privacy,” Mitchell said.

The full city council will next meet on September 24.