Speech to the city council on 9/8:
City Council, thank you for your service and for being here tonight.
My message today is about another case in which Rolling Meadows Flock cameras were used for stalking. Atthe July council meeting, we showed that logs indicate Rolling Meadows Flock cameras were used to stalkthree women and their friends by Police Chief William C. Copp of Holiday Hills. He was charged with a Class3 felony. The city did not follow RMPD Policy 447.7 when it shared residents’ movement data in this case,and it has tried to dismiss the city’s role in the harm done to these victims.
At the July council meeting, I said I could show a pattern of abuse, so I will continue to do that now for therecord. This time, the case involves Lieutenant Jeremy Harrison of Joliet, Illinois. According to Joliet Patch,Lieutenant Harrison accessed the Flock system and conducted about 153 searches for a woman’s licenseplate. At the time, the Joliet Police Department was not investigating the woman or her vehicle. Harrison wasfired for using the system for personal reasons to track her location. This is the third case in which RollingMeadows Flock cameras were used in a crime. In addition, the city violated its own Policy 447.7 by sharingthis data with Joliet without oversight.
Like in the Prairie Grove case, Rolling Meadows “shares” our cameras with Joliet. That means they cansearch the movements of our residents, including in real time. When Harrison stalked this woman, RollingMeadows supported him with our cameras. The city does not have documentation that it received, reviewed,or approved a request from Joliet, as required by our ALPR policy.
The city needs to understand the liability these cameras are creating for taxpayers.
These women, and the victims in the Rolling Meadows logs I have found so far, are mostly women. Theydeserve justice. I have spoken with a personal injury attorney who said these victims may deserveseven-figure settlements, which could mean more than $10 million.
Now we need accountability. Who is responsible for the city’s role in these crimes as liability continues togrow for taxpayers?
At the July meeting, the city tried to dismiss its duty to review each ALPR search by saying Copp was beinginvestigated for his crimes. Harrison is being investigated too. These men will face criminal investigations first,and if they are found guilty, civil damages cases may follow. Who will pay for that? The City referred to theIllinois State Police LEADS database and said our database is similar. LEADS is run by the Illinois StatePolice, and they carry ultimate responsibility for wrongdoing there.
Flock’s database, however, is a private database run by a private company under contract with RollingMeadows. Rolling Meadows’ agreement with Flock protects Flock from wrongdoing by us or by others whouse our cameras, which leaves the city with the responsibility. The city also referred to bilateral agreementswith Prairie Grove. Rather than protect us, that bilateral agreement places Rolling Meadows and Prairie Groveon the same side of the defendant line in the likely civil lawsuit.
To people who ask, “How is this different from someone taking a picture of my car as I drive by?” one answeris that person’s camera will not cost taxpayers a share of a seven-figure lawsuit. Our property tax bills arealready high enough.
Fresh abuses are being found almost weekly. The council has a fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers, a duty tocomply with the law, and a moral responsibility to stop these stalking cases. The liability grows the longer thecouncil does not act.
More than 650 people have signed our petition at RMnoFlock.com.
We have been listening to residents, and many share the same frustration: people do not accept the idea thattheir daily movements can be turned into a searchable trail by systems they cannot see, cannot control, andcannot fully understand—especially when those systems continue to be used illegally and can cost us money.
Now we need accountability. The council brought this to our city at a February 2023 council meeting, andnow the council needs to end it.
Thank you.