Not Flock fans: 2 public commenters for anti- camera resolutions

BLOUNTVILLE — Sullivan County Commission may not be scheduled to consider limits on Flock Safety cameras until next year, but two county residents concerned about privacy and Fourth Amendment rights of the U.S. Constitution had their say at Thursday night's commission meeting. As previously reported, Commissioner Joe Carr of Kingsport Thursday withdrew one anti-Flock resolution and accepted an amendment by Commissioner Matthew Johnson to table the other one until the April commission meeting, giving time for the U.S. Congress and Tennessee General Assembly to address the matter legislatively. Carr withdrew the resolution that addressed "warrantless use of automated license plate readers" or ALPR cameras, but the second resolution, a "trigger law banning all" ALPR cameras in Sullivan County "as soon as given authority by either the state legislature or Congress" will come before the commission again at its April meeting. Commissioners, including David Akard of Bristol and Mark Ireson of Colonial Heights, said the discussion about the camera issues was great but they simply weren't ready to approve the eventually tabled "trigger" resolution. 'GOVERNMENT SPYING' "Our own government is spying on us now more than ever," Carr said about the second resolution, referring to a writing in 1772 diary entry of founding father John Adams: "There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty." The resolution co-sponsor, Commissioner Lakie Derrick of Kingsport, said during the meeting that the public opposes Flock cameras, and two Sullivan Countians did just that during the public comment section of the meeting. The two public speakers were Maureen Christie of Piney Flats and Allison Cathey of Kingsport. "Where is the invasion of privacy going?" Christie asked rhetorically of the commission. She said that people opt to have GPS or global positioning system devices, smart phones, doorbell cameras, dashboard cameras and other devices that can track them, but they are able to opt out of things like Flock cameras or satellite imagery. "Stop. We're surveilled enough," Christie said. Cathey told the commission she supported both of the Carr/Derrick resolutions. On the old commission, the four-year term of which ended Aug. 31, Commissioner Gary Stidham proposed ending use of the cameras by the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office until "guard rails" were put in place by Tennessee or federal lawmakers. However, he withdrew that resolution after the county sheriff voluntarily ended use of the cameras. However, others on the commission have indicated the commission vote was a reflection of the commission not wanting to continue a contract for cameras it was not using. "They're very well written. I agree with everything in them," Cathey said of her support of avoiding misuse of technology and overreach. "These systems allow for overboard descriptions." She said probable cause and warrants should be required for them, rather than mass images cause by ALPR cameras. She said the dangers of the cameras "scare me more than these things," referring to the ability of law enforcement to track vehicles and people with the technology. EAST TENNESSEE PLATE MISREAD Carr before accepting the amendment to table the second Flock resolution, talked about the case of J.C. and Carolyn Herron, who along along with their 3-year-old granddaughter Penelope, were held at gunpoint and handcuffed during a traffic stop by the Morristown Police Department because of a Flock ALPR error. The couple was taking the granddaughter to a doctor's appointment According to multiple media accounts and the Institute of Justice website at https://ij.org/dozens-of-innocent-motorists-have-been-pulled-over-detained-at-gunpoint-or-jailed-due-to-ai-license-plate-camera-errors/, the error occurred in June of 2024 when the grandmother's custom vanity plate read "Lovey." with the letter "O," but a Flock camera misread the character as a zero or "0," matching a stolen vehicle plate in Claiborne County. REGIONAL PUSHBACK The proliferation of Flock cameras has created a national firestorm of discussion and debate, with local governments as diverse as Knox County and Damascus getting rid of the cameras. Officials of Damascus, in Washington County, Virginia, just north of Northeast Tennessee's Johnson County, recently voted to stop using the three cameras in their town, while Knox County officials have quit using and taken down more than 141 Flock cameras there. Sullivan County Commission recently voted not to renew the Flock contract in January after Sheriff Jeff Cassidy said he was cutting off access of Sullivan County law enforcement and any other agency from the 10 cameras costing the county about $30,000 a year. Cassidy at that time called for a referendum on the matter, but county officials later said that is not allowed by state law. In halting use of the cameras, he cited threats against him, his family and employees. Carr's comments during an Aug. 13 commission work session that that the CEO of Flock should be publicly hanged for treason went viral in mainstream media and online. Carr's arguments for the resolution to come before the commission again in April included cases of misuse of the technology across the country, a group including what Sullivan County Assistant Chief Richard Frazier said was a Sullivan employee whose employment was terminated because of misusing Flock data, which is supposed to be accessed only with a case number or active investigation. Frazier told the commission at an Oct. 8 work session the misuse was found during a monthly audit of Flock usage.