GALVESTON, Texas – The Galveston police union is lobbying city leaders for cameras that can help track where vehicles go.
Known as license plate readers (LPR) the cameras take pictures and record the license plates of every vehicle that passes by. Data is stored in a system that can be searched by police investigating cases.
There are different types of license plate reading technology, but the system the police union is asking for is known as Flock Safety, a name brand of the technology.
The Houston Police Department used the Flock camera system as they attempted to track down Athir Murady, the man accused of shooting and killing Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Corporal Maher Husseini on September 3.
According to the President of the Galveston Police Municipal Association, Anthony Rogers, police used the cameras to track the vehicle the suspect was driving along I-45. However, police eventually lost track of the suspect when they neared Galveston - where there are no license plate reading cameras.
“The Flock system tracked him all the way to League City. Flagged them down, tracked him down 45, and he ended up on the island. Nobody knew he was here due to the Flock,” Rogers told KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding. “We don’t have that ability. Here is what we do: good old-fashioned police work.”
In other words, when the suspect go to the Galveston area, they fell off the map.
“Nobody knew where he was that,” Rogers said.
It’s why the union is trying to push the city to purchase the camera system, but they say they’re faced with opposition from the Galveston City Attorney, Donald Glywasky.
“His response an email and I’ll be happy to share it, since he didn’t understand why the association is so invested in in this this ordeal,” Rogers said. “We’re invested because we want the men and women of Galveston Police Department to have the best tools available to solve crime and in in turn, protect the citizens of Galveston, protect the visitors of Galveston Island.”
The union shared an email from the City Attorney on Facebook, where the attorney noted a court ruling that limits law enforcement’s ability to track people’s movements.
“I believe the city attorney is just kicking the can down the road, as he’s continue to do in this regard over and over,” Rogers said.
In an email to KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding, Glywasky walked back the previous email saying this was concerning “searches of cell phone date in a given area in search of suspects.”
“The case was US v Smith 110 F4th 817 (5th Cir). It dealt with searches of cell phone date in a given area in search of suspects. This is a process called geo-fencing. Boiled down to the simplest terms, the 5th Circuit found the process to be a general warrant prohibited by the Constitution. It imposed additional steps to be followed,” Glywasky said.
The city attorney also saying the department needs to go through the proper procurement process.
The union on the other hand believes the Flock cameras could be sole sourced, meaning it’s a product only available from one supplier.
Galveston police declined an interview, but did say that the city is already starting the process to request bids.