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Huntsville council delays City Detect surveillance contract after weeks of public opposition
Summary
Following sustained public protests and dozens of speakers, Huntsville officials agreed to withdraw and study City Detect—a proposed AI camera program—for six to eight months, saying the city needs more public education and contract revisions before reconsideration.
Huntsville officials on Sept. 11 removed a proposed City Detect surveillance contract from immediate consideration after a large public outcry and multiple council members said the administration needed to better explain how the system would operate.
Mayor Tommy Battle told the council the contract had been taken off the agenda so staff could "educate people a little bit better on it" and to make "tweaks" to the contract language, and that the administration would revisit the proposal in roughly six to eight months. "Several other things in the contract needed to be tweaked," Battle said during his remarks.
The decision followed a sustained public campaign opposing the proposal. Dozens of residents urged the council to…
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