Resident urges Hays County to reconsider Axon contract, warns of 'mass surveillance'

Amy Camp addressed the court during public comment to criticize the commissioners' recent vote to advance a contract with Axon, a company that provides law-enforcement technology.

"I'm disappointed with majority of this court voting to move forward on the Axon contract last week," Camp said, reading comments she said had been posted on social media. She described community anger about potential surveillance and loss of control: "Ordinary people have no control over the data or how it gets used. Our civil rights continue to be trampled on."

Camp said there were more than 200 comments on a single post and urged residents to organize to block the contract, arguing that property-tax dollars should not fund "increased secret surveillance of Hays County citizens." She linked the contract to broader concerns about local spending priorities, saying, "We have all this tech going in, but we have deteriorating roads. Seems like priorities are screwed up for this commission."

The county judge thanked Camp for her remarks and indicated the commissioners had heard community input on the topic. No formal action on Axon was taken during this meeting; the comment was recorded during the public-comment period.