Three Flock License Plate Readers Deliberately Destroyed in Troy
TROY, N.Y. — Three automated license plate reader cameras were deliberately destroyed in Troy overnight, according to Mayor Carmella Mantello, as tensions continue over the city’s controversial use of the surveillance technology.
Mantello announced the damage in a Facebook post on Friday, July 24, sharing photographs that appeared to show the Flock Safety cameras cut down from their mounting poles.
The damaged cameras were located on Hoosick Street, Oakwood Avenue and Northern Drive, according to published reports. Troy police have opened an investigation and are working to identify whoever was responsible. No arrests had been announced as of Friday afternoon.
Mantello described the cameras as having been “deliberately destroyed” and condemned the vandalism as “violent and unhinged.”
“This behavior will not be tolerated,” the mayor wrote.
Troy City Council President Sue Steele also criticized the destruction. Although Steele and other council members have raised concerns about the Flock program, she said disagreements over public policy should be handled through peaceful debate rather than vandalism.
Cameras at Center of Heated Troy Debate
Flock Safety cameras automatically photograph passing vehicles and record information such as license plate numbers, vehicle descriptions, locations and times. Police departments use the searchable information to investigate crimes, locate stolen vehicles and identify vehicles connected to missing-person cases.
Supporters, including Mantello and Troy police officials, say the cameras are valuable public-safety tools.
Critics have raised concerns about privacy, mass surveillance, data retention and the possibility that information could be shared with agencies outside the city.
The dispute intensified in April when Mantello declared a public-safety emergency to keep the cameras operating after the City Council directed the city auditor to withhold payments to Flock Safety. The council later filed a lawsuit challenging the mayor’s emergency order.
City leaders subsequently announced temporary policy changes intended to protect residents’ privacy. Those changes included restricting data sharing to New York agencies on a case-by-case basis and prohibiting formal data-sharing agreements with federal agencies.
The City Council moved Thursday to limit the mayor’s emergency powers, including her ability to use an emergency declaration to bypass normal contracting and legislative procedures. The mayor has defended her actions as necessary to preserve a law-enforcement program she believes protects Troy residents.
The destruction of the three cameras adds a criminal investigation to an already bitter political and community dispute.
Officials have not released an estimated cost of the damage or said when the cameras will be replaced. Authorities are asking anyone with information about the vandalism to contact the Troy Police Department.
