Woman questions Flock use in Clinton
Police say cameras help solve crimes, protect children
Flock brand cameras are stirring debate in East Tennessee and beyond, and Clinton is no exception.
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs has criticized the cameras, and Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler has paused their installation.
In Clinton, however, Police Chief James Campbell has defended their use.
Clinton resident Delanie Davis spoke against the cameras during the July 27 Clinton City Council meeting, while Campbell and Clinton City Schools officials defended them. The council took no action on the issue.
Davis raised concerns about the potential for police officers and dispatchers to misuse information collected by the cameras.
“I believe that they are unconstitutional, and they go against our Fourth Amendment right to privacy,” Davis said. “As a veteran, a mother and a member of this city, I want us to uphold the Constitution above all else.”
Campbell responded that the U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on the constitutionality of Flock cameras.
He said the city uses eight Flock cameras. Four are located at main entrances to the city, on North Main Street, North Charles G. Seivers Bouevard, Longmire Road and Clinch Avenue, to capture license plates of vehicles entering the city.
Davis said five cameras are located at elementary schools.
But Campbell said there are four school cameras — one at North Clinton Elementary, one at South Clinton Elementary and two at Clinton Elementary.
“Each and every one of them is pointed at our playgrounds,” Davis said. “If all they do is read license plates, then why are they watching our children?”
Campbell and other officers at the meeting said the school cameras are aimed at nearby roads to capture license plates, just like the city’s other Flock cameras.
Clinton City Schools Director Kelly Johnson echoed that statement, explaining that playgrounds at schools such as Clinton Elementary are located close to public roads.
Johnson thanked the Clinton Police Department and said the cameras help protect students.
“When we start talking about Flock cameras and we start talking about security cameras, absolutely I expect that we do everything in our power to protect our children,” she said. “The single most important thing that Kelly Johnson can do at the end of the day is deliver kids safely into the hands of parents.”
Campbell said they capture only still images, not video or audio.
He said the images remain on the camera’s memory chip for 24 hours before being placed in Amazon cloud storage for 30 days.
The cameras are activated by motion, and the city shares information with other law enforcement agencies upon request.
Responding to questions from council members, Campbell said he was not aware of anyone selling data collected by the cameras.
Davis also criticized cameras at Aspire Park. Campbell responded that Aspire Park is privately owned and that its cameras are not affiliated with the city. He said Aspire Park, like other private businesses, can voluntarily share footage with law enforcement.
Davis argued that the cameras create opportunities for abuse, and referenced the recent felony arrest of Clinton Police dispatcher Tyler Lindsey. However, neither Davis nor anyone else alleged that Lindsey’s charges involved information obtained from Flock cameras.
She also cited the case of former Oak Ridge police officer Zachary Gauthier, who admitted using the Flock camera system 18 times for personal reasons. Gauthier pleaded guilty earlier this year and was sentenced to two years of probation.
Campbell said dispatchers may search the Flock system only after receiving an alert from the National Crime Information Center, an FBI database, or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children involving a matching license plate. Otherwise, officers need a case number before accessing images.
Campbell also cited several cases in which the cameras helped investigators, including locating a kidnapping suspect.
from Georgia and safely recovering a child. He also said the system helped solve a south Clinton case in which a vehicle struck a pedestrian.
