Ross police chief outlines elder-abuse investigation; license-plate-reader rollout stalled by vendor insurance dispute

Police Chief Pada updated the council on department operations at the March 12 meeting, describing recent investigative work and procurement obstacles.

On investigatory work the chief told the council that in one elder-abuse case "it was discovered that they had taken about $300,000 from this, this resident," and that officers executed search warrants and interviewed numerous witnesses; he said the office is "working to get a prosecution on that." The chief credited help from a local volunteer forensic-accounting team that assisted with the financial reconstruction.

Councilors also raised the status of the previously approved license-plate-reader program. Town Manager Johnson said the town has not resolved insurance issues with the vendor and that "the company is called Flock," adding there has been public concern about privacy that has prompted other jurisdictions to cancel or shrink agreements. Chief Pada explained that much of the county operates on a shared Flock system and that a stand-alone system would leave Ross without interoperability with neighboring jurisdictions. "If we got our stand alone system, we would be an island," he said, noting interoperability and equipment-leasing terms are important operational considerations.

Council members asked staff to continue researching vendors and insurance solutions, to consult neighboring jurisdictions about how they handled insurance hurdles, and to report back with viable procurement options.