New Bedford City Council Set to Reignite Debate Over Flock Safety Cameras Tonight

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — City Councilor at Large Shane Burgo said that in tonight’s meeting of the New Bedford City Council, he intends to make a motion to have the tabled items from last Thursday night’s suspended meeting regarding Flock Safety cameras brought back to the floor.

“That is my intention, yes,” Burgo said in an appearance on WBSM Monday when asked if he would make the motion to bring the items back before the council. “I assume my colleagues, that is what they would like to do, but we’re not going to be able to conduct the business if the same thing that happened last Thursday happens again (tonight).”

The Fallout From Last Week’s Disrupted Meeting

Burgo is referring to the disruptions from the anti-Flock crowd that led first to a 10-minute recess, and then later the suspension of the meeting when the shouting began again once the meeting resumed. The crowd attempted to shout down Councilor at Large Brian Gomes as he spoke, saying he supports the idea of Flock cameras helping police but wants to ensure nobody’s privacy is infringed upon. Those in the audience did not like that position.

READ MORE: Here's What Brian Gomes Was Going to Say in Suspended Flock Camera Meeting

“That is not the way we can conduct business, if people are shouting as we’re trying to debate a topic and get things to committee,” Burgo said.

City Council President Ryan Pereira then scheduled a special meeting for tonight at 7 p.m. in the council chambers to resume the agenda from Thursday night, with the four motions related to the Flock cameras tabled. Burgo or another councilor will have to make a motion to remove them from the table in order for the council to take action on them tonight.

READ MORE: Suspended New Bedford City Council Meeting to Resume Following Anti-Flock Disruption

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Breaking Down the Four Tabled Flock Camera Motions

Those motions include one by Councilor Gomes requesting the Committee on Public Safety and Neighborhoods meet with Police Chief Jason Thody, a representative from the mayor’s office, and a representative from Flock Safety to work toward a transparent policy with safeguards in place for the use of the cameras to protect the civil rights of citizens and police.

The second was by Councilor Burgo, Ward 5 Councilor Joe Lopes and Councilor at Large Ian Abreu to request the Committee on Public Safety and Neighborhoods meet with representatives from New Bedford Police, the City Solicitor, the Information Technology Department, and any other appropriate officials to discuss the city’s use of law enforcement technologies such as Flock, and review the policies in place for data collection.

Those same three councilors also have a motion requesting the Committee on Ordinances “consider whether the appropriate policy outcome is either the complete removal and abolition of automated license plate reader systems and other similarly invasive surveillance technologies within the City of New Bedford, or, in the alternative, establishing ‘Municipal Automated License Plate Reader Privacy and Transparency Standards.’”

The fourth motion from Ward 1 Councilor Leo Choquette is requesting that New Bedford “immediately cease the use of Flock cameras citywide until which time permanent legislation can be enacted as to their use.”

Public Education Efforts and Moving Forward

Burgo held a meeting Monday night at the Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council offices in New Bedford in order to educate the public on how the city council conducts its business and what the procedures are that must be followed.

“I want people to understand now how we move forward,” he said.

READ MORE: New Bedford Councilor Hosting Community Meeting After Heated Flock Clash

The first three motions are expected to be sent to their respective committees, while the fourth is expected to be received and placed on file, with the likely outcome being a letter sent to Mayor Jon Mitchell and Chief Thody requesting they cease use of the Flock technology – something Thody has already done in the wake of public outcry and an investigation into an officer allegedly misusing the technology.

READ MORE: New Bedford Shuts Down Flock Safety Cameras

“The conversations we were having with people as we were leaving Thursday, they were under the impression that we as a city council could have just made a motion, for example Leo Choquette’s motion to cease operations,” Burgo said.

Ordinances Versus Floor Requests: Understanding the Legislative Process

“Motions like that from the floor are just simply requests to the mayor or the chief, and the mayor can just ignore those requests," Burgo said.

“Contrast that with an ordinance, that actually has teeth, that the mayor by law has to act on within 10 days,” he said. “He cannot ignore it. If he does ignore it, it automatically becomes law, so he either has to sign it or veto it.”

Burgo, who chairs the Committee on Ordinances, said that the Flock motion will be the only item on the agenda for the committee’s September meeting “because of the sense of urgency we have and how long it takes oftentimes to draft an ordinance.”

He pointed to the Paid Family Leave ordinance that was passed into law during that same meeting Thursday, after the council unanimously voted to override Mayor Mitchell’s veto, as something that had to go through so many steps in order to become law.

READ MORE: New Bedford City Council Overrides Mayor's Veto on Paid Family Leave

“These things take time, and that’s why I want to get it to committee as soon as possible and get to work as soon as possible,” Burgo said. “That’s why we don’t want to have any further delays.”

Listen to Councilor at Large Shane Burgo on The Tim Weisberg Show