The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon and its partners filed a lawsuit against the city of Eugene on behalf of Eyes Off Eugene member Seth May, alleging that the city denied public record requests by May to release a list of locations of the Automated License Plate Readers in Eugene.
City Manager Sarah Medary signed a contract with Flock Safety, a security company, in March, which guaranteed the installation of 57 cameras at traffic stops. The contract has created outrage within the city’s community due to allegations of privacy violations across the country.
The suit was filed on Oct. 20, months after May first requested public records from the city in June. May asked the city to release a list containing the location of each ALPR from Flock Safety, but was denied.
The city cited ORS 192.345(23) for its denial, which states that records identifying security measures are exempt from public record unless public interest demands otherwise. May appealed this denial in August, which was denied by Lane County District Attorney Christopher Parosa.
“(The appellant must demonstrate) that the public’s interest in disclosure is outweighed by the public body’s in withholding disclosure,” Parosa said. “In this case, the appellant failed to state any public interest that was at stake… (so) we simply denied the request.”
Ky Fireside, another member of Eyes Off Eugene, believes there’s more than enough substantial public interest to override the exemption.
“If I don’t want my phone to know my location, I can turn it off or leave it at home, but I cannot avoid Flock surveillance if I don’t know where it is,” Fireside said. “And since Flock has been caught numerous times sharing data with federal agencies… it is really vital that the information is available. It’s definitely in the public interest to be able to avoid those, and it’s just weird that Eugene specifically has been so resistant to sharing that information.”
The city of Springfield sent Eyes Off Eugene a list of the intended locations of their ALPRs and was cooperative with the organization, according to Fireside. The ACLU also wrote in their lawsuit that multiple Oregon cities — including Springfield, Woodburn and Medford — all complied with similar public record requests, “confirming” that revealing the locations of ALPRs aren’t security concerns.
The ACLU said in their legal complaint that the amount of local news reporting, petition signatures and pressure on the City Council shows that the cameras have been of significant public concern.
“The public in Eugene has been engaged heavily in discourse regarding law enforcement’s use of Flock, and the impacts such mass surveillance networks have on public privacy rights, sanctuary laws, and shield protections,” the ACLU wrote in the complaint.
In a press release, the ACLU announced its lawsuit, alleging that the city has violated the Oregon Public Records Law by denying May’s request.
“The city of Eugene’s refusal to disclose the records despite the significant public interest in them stands in stark contrast to the transparency that other cities like Springfield, Medford and Woodburn have provided the public by identifying the locations of Flock cameras without issue.”
The Daily Emerald reached out to city officials for a comment and did not hear back.
