The Metro Council Takes on the Surveillance State

During last night’s Metro Council meeting, the body shot down the Fusus agreement that would have extended a contract that allows certain businesses and residents to voluntarily integrate their private security cameras with Metro Nashville Police Department’s network. The proposal, which has been hotly contested since its introduction in October, ultimately failed by one vote. 

Over the last month, members of the public opposed to the contract expressed their fears of a surveillance state that would target minority communities and illegal aliens, while those in support urged council members to implement the technology to protect victims of crime. During the floor discussion, Councilmember Erin Evans—who filed multiple guardrails and changes to the resolution in hopes of helping it pass—shared a few horrific crimes that have spurred conversations about access to surveillance cameras, including a double homicide witnessed by a seven-year-old, and an unsolved incident where 20 half-dead cats were left in a dumpster.

Yesterday, Mayor O’Connell took to X to voice his support for the contract and exposed the foreboding that seems to fuel the resistance to such technology. "Fundamentally, I think this is a question about whether we trust ourselves—local government, local law enforcement—to perform a core mission of public safety against a backdrop of lack of trust in higher authorities,” he posted. “I’m still an optimist in this regard."

His vote of confidence failed to encourage a change of heart in those wary of both the police department and current political landscape. At least one councilmember felt personally threatened by the proposal. “I’m sick and tired of the people that have contacted me in the last few days and have laughed at me because of my fear,” said Councilmember Olivia Hill. Her remarks are worth printing in full: 

“If you look at it on the outside, it sounds very intuitive: ‘Olivia, the cameras are already there. You're already going to be filmed, and it's only going to be used to catch criminals and bad guys.’ I stand before you as one of those criminals. I am illegally dressed in women's clothes and drag. And if some police officer that has a problem with the trans community—that has happened in the past—or some other citizen decides that they want to make a comment about something, then a crime has been committed. I will be arrested, and because I'll be arrested for impersonating a woman, I'll be put in jail with men. And that terrifies the heck out of me, because once it happens the second time…I'll be charged with a felony, which means—not only as a combat veteran who put my life on the line for every single person that can hear my voice—I will lose this seat, and I will lose my right to be an American, to vote, just for being myself.”

Later in the conversation, Councilmember Delishia Porterfield came to Hill’s defense while calling out those in support of the contract on the behalf of victims,(which included one public commentator who shared her sister-in-law’s story of being raped and murdered by a serial offender.) “[It] was stated earlier, ‘If you've been a victim of crime, you will want this,’” she said. “I've been a victim of crime, I still don't want it, and I want to thank my colleague, Olivia, for speaking up. And it really sucks that she would get a felony and have to give up her seat, especially when we have a 34-time convicted felon leading this country.”

At one point, voice quivering, Councilmember Sandra Sepulvenda explained how some constituents on Nextdoor “were actually blaming the Latino community for the possibility of not getting cameras.” Later on, Councilmember Terry Vo posed the question echoed by many opposed to the resolution: “Should we pave the way for the state and the federal government to weaponize tech to attack our communities?”

Veteran Councilmember Burkley Allen confessed that the Fusus issue has been “one of the most complicated things I've ever dealt with," and took care to get clarification about the council’s ability to immediately stop the program if there is evidence of abuse.

“Y'all, we really have to ask ourselves, ‘Are we going to allow our businesses to opt in on this voluntary process, or are we going to get in their way?” asked Councilmember Jordan Huffman, after reminding the council of multiple at-large criminals who have committed theft and murder in Nashville over the last few weeks. But even Councilmember David Benton’s clarification that “homicide is up 152 percent since 2014, auto theft is up 320 percent since 2013," and "rape is up 27 percent since 2012” didn’t help those in opposition overcome their purity test. 

The council’s vote to reject the Fusus agreement was ironically followed by the passage of a resolution honoring the life of Alyssa Lokits, who was murdered while walking the Mill Creek Greenway trail. “This tragedy has put a focus…not on just her great contributions to society and to our community, but it has also put a light on the need for safety measures in our different parks and greenways, and we are thankful for that,” said Sponsor Antoinette Lee. 

Allowing Nashvillians to voluntarily work with police by approving the Fusus technology was definitely not the solution 18 of the council members were willing to support, but Councilmember Vo concisely expressed which measures she would find acceptable: community policing, officer de-escalation and “cultural competency” training, “multilingual outreach” to “non-English speaking communities,” and crime prevention programs. She neglected to mention where the city would find the precogs though.