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Residents urge pause on ALPR/camera programs and question Axon contract, citing privacy and equity concerns
Summary
Dozens of residents urged the council to pause or halt automatic license-plate readers and private camera programs and demanded stronger technical review, transparency and local guardrails after the council’s recent contract decisions. Speakers cited privacy risks, vendor ethics-board resignations and subpoena access to centralized data.
Dozens of Longmont residents used the public‑comment period on April 7 to press the City Council to pause automated license‑plate readers (ALPRs), private camera networks and related contracts with technology vendors.
Multiple speakers warned of privacy harms, disparate surveillance impacts on marginalized communities and untested technical claims about accuracy. Nick Alonso told councilors many private 'Flock' cameras are owned by businesses and upload images to a central server over which the community has little control. Jenny Bell said presentations from Longmont Police were insufficient to demonstrate that ALPRs caused crime reductions, and she asked for independent technical review and a technology advisory board before further deployment.
Speakers cited broader concerns about Axon, the vendor referenced in council debate. Several commenters said Axon’s ethics board had resigned and pointed to large federal contracts (a claim made in public comment and attributed to community reporting). Gage Wandrush cited transparency‑portal numbers and warned that federal administrative subpoenas could allow transfer of stored data from vendor servers without local knowledge.
Ariel Khan, who said she worked on AI procurement best practices, urged frequent monitoring, audits, risk assessments and retesting after software updates; she called the council’s recent vote to sign an Axon contract a "divergence" from Longmont's previous caution with smart‑tech procurement.
Council did not take a formal vote to reverse the contract at this meeting. Several council members expressed appetite for more vetting and public input; speakers asked for guardrails on government and private use of camera systems, a transparent technical review of vendor claims and clearer public reporting on who has access to camera and ALPR data.
What happened next: Council discussion of the ALPR/Axon procurement continued in later agenda items and follow-up meetings; tonight primarily served as a public‑comment forum for residents to surface technical, legal and ethical concerns.
