Columbus City Councilmember Emmanuel Remy is hesitant to cancel Columbus’ contract with Flock even though a recent Columbus police audit found data Flock surveillance cameras collected was used for possible immigration-related searches.
“I think this is a valuable tool that has helped solve many crimes, and when you talk to the victims of those crimes, they absolutely want this in place because it's solved murders, it's found kidnapped children, it has been there to help against youth violence,” Remy said.
“We need to ensure that that side of the tool remains without infringing on the rights and civil liberties of our residents and so, that's what we want to do here in Columbus, Ohio, and not take drastic moves of eliminating a technology that has helped so many lives,” Remy said.
Columbus City Council said Tuesday that it will hold a public hearing on Aug. 10 about the city’s use of Flock Safety’s license plate reader cameras and the recently released Columbus police audit.
The audit found CPD’s network was searched for possible immigration-related reasons up to 15,577 times.
The hearing will include representatives from Flock answering questions from council.
“I think it's about providing transparency and accountability,” Remy said. “I believe we owe it to our residents to do that. And we're gonna take this opportunity to examine what has occurred in the past, what policies have been put in place to prevent them from happening in the future.”
After the audit was released last Friday, Mayor Andrew Ginther ordered Columbus police to stop statewide sharing of its Flock cameras. Remy asked CPD to perform the audit, and has said he has asked police policy around the cameras to be reviewed as well.
Several other Ohio cities have also found their Flock cameras have been used in immigration-related searches, which resulted in Dayton canceling its contract.
Remy added that he would be open to considering Flock competitors if the company cannot provide adequate safeguards for residents.
Remy also discussed the 20 possible immigration-related searches that originated from Columbus police. He said the division is currently investigating the searches.
“I believe it was one officer. They know who that officer is,” Remy said. “I trust that the administration within the Division of Police will get to the bottom of why that officer made those inquiries.”
The Aug. 10 hearing will be held at City Hall. It's unclear which members, aside from Remy, will be in attendance.
