Councilors voice equity and liability concerns as ALPR ordinance advances

Several councilors framed the ALPR debate as both a public-safety and an equity question: while some residents want more cameras to improve safety, others fear concentrated surveillance of specific neighborhoods. Councillor Baptiste warned the policy could be applied unevenly and urged stronger public input. "It's gonna be balanced towards the way where people that live in certain neighborhoods are going to get more... surveillance and be uncomfortable where they live," he said.

Councillor Brian Gomes raised a related legal question about whether shutting a public-safety system can expose the city to lawsuits, citing a national ShotSpotter case. Attorney Geratowski said he was not aware of a clear legal theory that would make the city liable simply for suspending a surveillance system, but he cautioned that individual lawsuits are sometimes filed even if not meritorious. Multiple councilors asked for a public-safety committee hearing with vendor representation and more community outreach prior to final Council action.