Flock concerns make appearance at Johnson City Commission meeting

Local politicians capped off the Johnson City Commission's meeting Thursday with public comment, calling on board members to end the city's 10-year contract with Flock Safety. The comments follow a community group's recent public records request of the Johnson City Police Department's audit and network logs for the department's Flock cameras. The records, obtained by DeFlock Johnson City, have been reviewed by the Johnson City Press but have not yet been independently verified for their legitimacy.The records contain 30 days of agency search and search subject data across Johnson City's Flock network that indicate that more than 3,000 agencies, most of which are out of state, have searched the city's camera system. If true, this would contradict previous statements made by city officials that the city's Flock network is only searchable by in-state agencies."The people of Washington County did not vote to be surveilled by their government 24/7 as they go about their business," Brad Batt, executive committeeman for the county's Democratic Party, said during public comment.Batt is also the Democratic nominee for Tennessee House District 6 running against Republican incumbent Tim Hicks and independent Rodger Broadwater."Either you're being lied to or you're lying to us," Batt said to the board. "So let us know which one it is."Dave Adams and Sylvain Bruni, two of 10 candidates running in the upcoming city commission election, also spoke against the use of police technology Thursday, citing concerns about the technology's capabilities and oversight."You were told, 'We control who sees the data, we monitor incoming searches and it's under control,'" Adams said. "But we are averaging a search every three seconds.""Johnson City must eliminate the Flock system and rethink this aspect of public safety from the ground up," Bruni said. Bruni currently serves as the chair of the Washington County Democratic Party.The city's contract with Flock is part of what it calls its "Safe City Project." After this year, the contract for the cameras will cost the city a little under $1 million annually.As discussion about Flock cameras has become increasingly prevalent nationwide, privacy concerns about the technology have also come to a head locally over the past few weeks. On Monday, the town of Jonesborough moved to can its contract with Flock. Sullivan County commissioners voted to stop business with the tech company in mid-August.Ahead of the general public comment period, the commission unanimously approved all the items on its agenda. The board also heard presentations on the city's fiscal year-end financial statements and crime statistics.