A recent push by the city to obtain two autonomous drones to aid first responders, faced a setback Tuesday night. Members of the city council’s Joint Committee on Contracts and Public Safety and Transportation voted against recommending a contract with Flock Safety, a surveillance company.
The committee overwhelmingly voted against the proposal, with only one yes vote and another member abstaining, to cheers from residents at a public meeting on the issue.
But Hector Soliman-Valdez, Flock Safety’s director of municipal engagement, isn’t discouraged.
“I think this is a normal part of the public process and we actually expected that,” Soliman-Valdez said.
The vote however, will not stop the city council from voting on the proposal later this month.
Despite the challenges, Soliman-Valdez said Flock Safety is looking forward to meeting with the community to discuss drone features.
Previous reporting by Connecticut Public highlighted concerns the drones may violate resident’s privacy by collecting data on them, which could inadvertently help federal authorities with deportation efforts.
Soliman-Valdez said sharing sensitive data violates company policy.
However, several city council members and residents said Flock Safety’s surveillance data was shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in other states.
Previous reporting by Virginia based WHRO indicates Flock Safety’s surveillance data, can be accessed by local police around the country, and was used by ICE in Virginia.
Soliman-Valdez pushed back on those claims saying the company does not share the information and that local police are responsible for how the information is utilized.
“All customers own their data, so Flock does not share any information so that’s unfortunately misinformation … we don’t police the police, so we create technology for police to use, to solve crime,” Soliman-Valdez said.
The crime fighting and first responder aspect of the drone systems were highlighted by Bridgeport city council member Aidee Nieves and Police Chief Roderick Porter.
Porter said the drones would act as a force multiplier. The city’s crime rate dropped last year, and Porter said the drones would help the city build on those successes. Its utility, he said, doesn't just end with crime fighting. It could also help with firefighting.
Porter played a video, showing police officers entering a building on fire. But they didn’t go in blind, a Flock drone got there first. It helped officials plan out their next steps.
“The reason why we want Flock where we want drones in the city of Bridgeport is to enhance our ability to respond to calls, to provide a clearer view of what's taking place prior to the officers getting on scene,” Porter said.
But residents like Todd Sample say their opposition to Flock is rooted in privacy concerns.
Sample said the potential for sensitive data ending up in the hands of federal law enforcement agencies also gives him pause. He referred to recent federal deportation efforts widely criticized for the use of surveillance tactics and a more violent and antagonistic response to protests, including the recent killing of a Minnesota woman by an ICE agent.
“We are facing an authoritarian type fascist regime where we’re having officers coming in fully masked, and they’re kidnapping people and they’re assaulting people,” Sample said.
