KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Protests continued nationwide over the weekend following the actions of immigration agents in Minnesota.
One of the actions requested by anti-ICE protestors and opponents in Kalamazoo is for the city commission to immediately end the use of Flock-brand license plate readers and other video security systems by public safety.
Protestors claim that the cameras can be used by immigration agents to track their targets.
City Manager Malcolm Hankins says that just isn’t true, saying only local police agencies have access to the system.
Public Safety Chief Dave Boysen says the cameras have been very useful and have helped them solve a couple of murders, among other crimes, including the capture of a killer at the Campus Pointe Mall.
Including identifying the suspect responsible for the gun death of a woman struck by a stray bullet at Interfaith Housing.
Those were homicides that Boysen says would have been difficult to solve without the cameras.
Public safety limited access to their camera systems months ago, partly because of concerns that they might be used by federal agencies against local residents.
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