POLSTON QUESTIONS WHETHER LOUISIANA’S FLOCK CAMERA CONTRACT WAS EVER LEGALLY APPROVED

LOUISIANA, Mo. — Louisiana City Councilman Woodrow Polston is raising a new question in the city’s ongoing debate over Flock Safety license plate-reader cameras: whether the agreement was ever formally approved by the Louisiana City Council.

In a public statement Friday, Polston said he has found no record showing that council members voted to authorize the Flock camera contract before the system was placed into use.

“Here is the bombshell about our Flock cameras in Louisiana; they were never voted on and officially approved by the city council,” Polston wrote. He said he believes that could conflict with Section 115.250(C) of Louisiana’s municipal code as well as provisions governing contracts and purchasing in the city employee handbook.

RiverNewsLive reviewed the language of Section 115.250. The ordinance identifies the city administrator as Louisiana’s purchasing agent, but states that purchases must be made in accordance with purchasing rules and procedures approved by the City Council.

The ordinance by itself does not establish that the Flock agreement was improperly executed. Whether council approval was legally required would depend on the cost and terms of the agreement, the city’s purchasing policies, any budget authorization already approved by the council and exactly who executed the contract.

Polston nevertheless said he believes the issue could potentially invalidate the agreement.

“In my mind, this contract should be null and void,” Polston wrote. “We shall see.”

The controversy adds another layer to the debate that has developed in Louisiana over the city’s use of automated license plate readers. The cameras photograph vehicles and license plates and allow law enforcement to search captured information as part of criminal investigations.

Polston has previously questioned the scope and oversight of Louisiana’s Flock program and has advocated greater public scrutiny of the system.

Opposition to Flock cameras has also become a national issue, with communities around the country debating privacy, government surveillance, data sharing and oversight.

Some cities have recently reconsidered or terminated Flock agreements, while law-enforcement agencies continue to argue that the technology is an effective investigative tool.

The central question now in Louisiana is comparatively straightforward: Was the Flock contract authorized according to the city’s own purchasing and contracting rules?

RiverNewsLive has not independently located a council vote approving the original Flock agreement. That does not conclusively establish that no authorization exists, and additional city records — including the contract, purchasing records, council minutes and applicable employee-handbook provisions — would be needed to determine exactly how the agreement was approved.

RiverNewsLive will continue following the issue as additional documentation becomes available.