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Residents press Renton council on license-plate reader oversight and alleged investigative failures
Summary
Two public commenters urged the council to tighten oversight: one raised transparency and audit concerns about automated license-plate reader (ALPR) searches and data sharing; another alleged mishandled trafficking and sexual-abuse investigations and said she will pursue public records.
During the audience comment period at the April 6 Renton City Council meeting, two residents raised forceful concerns about public safety practices and police oversight.
Ellen Tennis, introduced by the council as a Renton resident, focused on automated license-plate reader (ALPR) searches conducted with Flock technology. She told the council that in a recent 30-day sample, 26% of ALPR searches "did not list a reason at all," 27% were labeled "active investigation," and 1% listed "criminal justice purposes," and argued that these documentation practices leave "zero accountability" for more than half of recent searches. She asked, "How will you protect us from improper searches? And how will you share that audit information with the public?" Tennis urged the council to consult outside civil-rights and privacy experts and to ensure audits can detect improper uses of shared data.
Maria Hudson used her time to press for accountability in investigations she described as involving sex trafficking and vulnerable-adult sexual abuse. Hudson alleged that Renton officers had failed to coordinate with Seattle and Bellevue investigators, had not referred investigative packages to prosecutors, and had not adequately protected a victim she named in her remarks. She said she will submit a public-disclosure request for case records and demanded a joint interview with other jurisdictions at a time convenient for her daughter.
The public-comment speakers raised procedural and transparency questions the council did not resolve on the record. The meeting record shows no immediate council response or staff commitment to specific next steps during the comment period; both speakers asked for follow-up and greater transparency.
