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Council approves $42,000 TIRZ contribution for patrol cameras amid privacy concerns
Summary
City council approved $42,000 in reinvestment-zone funds to help purchase pan-tilt-zoom cameras for police use; staff said footage would be locally stored with roughly four-day retention, while residents raised Fourth Amendment and misuse concerns.
The San Angelo City Council voted to authorize $42,000 in TIRZ (tiers) reinvestment-zone support to help fund pan-tilt-zoom cameras intended to enhance public-safety monitoring in North and South tiers districts. Aaron Vannoy, director of planning and development services, described the cameras as a capital purchase consistent with the TIRZ finance plan and said the technology could be remotely accessed by police crime analysts; "They won't be monitored 24/7, but we would be able to remote into those cameras," Chief Craig Thompson said, adding retention would be "about approximately 4 days before they're overwritten."
Public commenters objected to the expansion of license-plate and remote-zoom cameras. "Once again, 4th Amendment violation of, right to privacy," Coco Simpson said during public comment and questioned overall costs and long‑term maintenance budgets. Jamal Schumpert described past experiences he contends illustrate risks of misuse. Council members discussed options for a locally managed LPR network and CJIS-compliant storage; after debate the ordinance motion passed 5–2. The record shows council sought to emphasize retention limits and local control of footage as mitigation steps.
