![]() ![]() These include covert device cameras, which “are hidden in household devices such as an alarm clock, smoke detector or computer speaker” GPS monitors that are placed on “bait” bicycles and packages to apprehend thieves and homeland security cameras that are placed on traffic poles throughout the city. The police department reported possessing eight pre-approved technologies. “The annual surveillance report is an essential part of that process created by the ordinance because that allows the city council and the community to basically know how that surveillance technology was used,” Falcon-Morano said. That data can be aggregated and can be stored, might have a kind of chilling effect people that wouldn't exercise their rights because they know they're being surveilled.”įalcon-Morano discussed the role of the surveillance report in rebalancing that power dynamic. ![]() they can collect massive amounts of data. “The problem is basically our surveillance technologies tilt the balance in favor of the government," Falcon-Morano said. He explained why the ACLU feels that transparency surrounding police surveillance technology is important. He has worked with the Somerville City Council over the past three years to draft and implement the ordinance as a part of the larger push by the ACLU to regulate surveillance technologies used by the government. “There were a few technologies that the administration for approval that the city council actually basically made it clear that we would not support.”Įmiliano Falcon-Morano is the policy counsel for the Technology for Liberty Program at the ACLU of Massachusetts. “The purpose of this is so that there's transparency and accountability around these technologies,” Ewen-Campen said. In 2018, Somerville’s Ward 3 City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen worked with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts to introduce a city ordinance that would require the police department to obtain public approval from the city council for any new surveillance technology purchases. 15, allowing Somerville residents to see exactly what surveillance technology the city's police department is using. ![]() The events depicted in the findings and related evidence fall disappointingly short of the Department’s expectations and do not represent the values of the Somerville Police Department,” said Acting Somerville Police Chief Charles Femino.The Somerville Police Department made its first annual surveillance technology report to the Mayor's Office on Oct. The public must have confidence that officers discharge their duties with all due care and restraint. The City must be able to rely on the good judgment of its officers using force only when warranted by the circumstances as defined in Departmental policies. “While the overwhelming majority of law enforcement officers perform their duties with full professionalism, those who are alleged to have committed an act of misconduct will be held accountable. McGrath resigned prior to the date of the suspension taking effect. An internal investigation by the Somerville Police Professional Standards Division found McGrath responsible for several violations of Departmental policies and Rules and Regulations including the use of unnecessary force. He was suspended without pay for a period of five days with a recommendation for additional discipline up to and including termination of his employment from the City of Somerville. When the police administration learned of the incident, McGrath was placed on unpaid leave. McGrath admitted to having pepper-sprayed a handcuffed man on October 1, 2019. As reported by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, on May 5, 2022, former Somerville Police Officer Michael McGrath admitted to sufficient facts in Cambridge District Court to the charge of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. ![]()
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