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The Tennessee Conservative –
Nashville residents showed up and spoke out Tuesday against a contract being considered by the Metro Council that would allow police to gain access to real time camera footage from private businesses.
The public hearing was an opportunity for citizens to voice their opinions on the 34-month contract with Fusus, a company that assists law enforcement agencies with surveillance.
Although there was a long line of individuals who spoke at the meeting, only three were in agreement with the proposal.
Those in favor of the contract have argued that it would help the Metro Nashville Police Department to speed up criminal investigations. Police have said that businesses will be able to decide whether they share video footage with the department or not.
Opponents, however, say that the alleged benefits do not outweigh the concerns that have been raised regarding the “big brother” surveillance arguing that it could lead to unfair targeting of individuals.
A report by the Community Review Board showed a number of concerns regarding privacy breaches and infringement of civil liberties. They requested greater transparency in regard to how Fusus would be used.
After nearly 90 minutes of public comment, Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda also spoke in opposition of the contract, making many of the same arguments as others who spoke against it.
Metro Nashville Police actually contracted with Fusus in September 2022, but that contract was halted after it was noted that Metro code requires the approval of the Metro Council for all surveillance contracts. This was the third time that the proposal has been brought to the council.
In the end, the Metro Council made the decision to postpone voting on the contract until their meeting on December 3rd. They also considered the proposal of an amendment to the contract for additional safeguards against potential abuse of the system.
