Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello is vetoing a law that would restrict the Troy Police Department's use of Flock automatic license plate readers (ALPRs), the mayor announced Thursday evening.
Local Law 3 would require the Troy Police to delete data from ALPRs after 72 hours, unless a police officer had "reasonable belief" that the data might be needed for a criminal investigation. It would also only allow the Troy Police Department to share ALPR data under a court order, or with the Rensselaer County District Attorney's Office. The law is intended to protect the privacy of visitors and residents.
Mantello, a Republican, argued the law was "biased in favor of criminal defendants" and "undermines the ability of the Troy Police Department to investigate and solve serious violent crimes."
"I am deeply disappointed the council has chosen to enact this Local Law," Mantello wrote in her statement. "Every law enforcement professional who appeared before you — including all of our chiefs of the department and the Rensselaer County District Attorney — testified that this law was unwise and completely misguided. I cannot believe that you would not take their considered professional advice."
The Troy City Council, made up entirely of Democrats, passed Local Law 3 last month by a vote of 6-0. The council will likely override Mantello's veto.
Mantello's veto of the law is the latest in a months-long political battle over the Collar City's Flock cameras after community members raised privacy concerns at City Council meetings this spring.
A previous version of the law proposed a 48-hour retention period. The anti-ALPR activist group DeFlock Troy criticized that amendment in a statement ahead of the vote, saying it was made "without a good reason." They also criticized the council's decision to allow Troy Police to conduct a 60-day audit of the cameras, calling it a "mistake."
The council is currently suing Mantello for using her emergency powers this spring to pay the city's contract with Flock Safety. The council, which became Democrat-controlled in January, had tabled a decision on renewing the contract.
The council voted in September to restrict the mayor's ability to declare emergencies. Mantello unsuccessfully vetoed that legislation, calling it a "political power play."
A 25-year-old Troy man is facing criminal mischief charges for allegedly cutting down one of the city's Flock cameras. Another three Flock cameras were felled in Troy days before that man's arrest.
Across the Hudson, a former Albany County Sheriff's investigator is facing misdemeanor charges for allegedly searching Flock camera data more than 4,000 times without a legitimate law enforcement purpose. About 3,000 of those searches were for her ex-girlfriend's vehicle.
"There has not been a single instance where any Troy police investigator has misused the city's camera for some improper purpose," Mantello wrote in her veto statement.
