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Residents warn against Axon contract, citing mass‑surveillance risks
Summary
Several residents urged Glenwood Springs council to reconsider a proposed police contract with Axon, saying it goes beyond body cameras to include automated license‑plate readers (ALPRs), drones, AI aggregation and cloud storage, raising privacy and equity concerns.
Multiple speakers at the June 18 meeting told council they oppose replacing one surveillance technology with another and warned the proposed Axon package could create a system of persistent, real‑time mass surveillance.
"Replacing one mass surveillance tool with another is not what I had in mind," Tracy Zavo said, arguing that industry‑funded studies often overstate public‑safety benefits and that the contracts typically give government broader surveillance capabilities than the public expects.
Other speakers cited specifics they said are in the contract or in public descriptions: Zodie Woolsey recited the technology package she said the contract included — body cameras, tasers, at least four automated license‑plate reader cameras, and Skyio drones — and warned the public was not being given accurate descriptions of the scope. "It includes an integrated surveillance platform with 27 Axon body cameras, 27 tasers, four Axon outpost automated license plate reader cameras, a Skyio X10 drone ..." she said.
Speakers also referenced resignations from Axon’s AI ethics board and cited a letter from ACLU‑affiliated groups in other cities warning of equity impacts and insufficient oversight. "Once these technologies are in place, there is no walking them back," one commenter warned, quoting members of Axon’s ethics board who resigned in 2022.
Council did not vote on the contract during the meeting. Some council members and staff signaled they had heard the concerns and that public safety and privacy trade‑offs would be part of follow‑up discussions.
Why it matters: Contracts that couple body cameras, cloud storage and automated analytics raise questions about who controls data, how long it is retained, whether third parties can access it, and whether technologies like ALPRs disproportionately affect certain communities. Residents urged the council to demand stronger contractual protections, transparency and public oversight before finalizing the procurement.
Provenance: Public comments on Axon and ALPRs occurred during the public‑comment portion (SEG 382–471 and SEG 1001–1050). No council action on the contract was recorded at the June 18 meeting.
