Tempe leaders say automated license plate readers were mistakenly included in a $7 million Axon contract despite the city's pledge to stop using the technology.
Tempe Mayor Corey Woods blamed a "clerical error" and the City Council did not vote on the contract with Axon to allow staff to make adjustments. But critics still accused the city of lying to its constituents.
Part of the hours-long meeting on Aug. 31 centered on automated license plate readers, a hot-button topic across the Valley. Tempe was one of a handful of cities in metro Phoenix to cancel its contract with Flock Safety, which supplied the city with 33 automated license plate readers.
After canceling its contract with Flock, the city announced it would not seek another vendor.
But
12 automated license plate readers were included in a five-year, $7 million contract with Axon that the council was expected to approve during its meeting. That contract included other public safety equipment like body-worn and dash cameras and tasers.
Woods said the automated license plate readers were in the contract by mistake.
"I want to be very clear about this matter," he said. "This was a clerical error, not a change in direction."
The vote on the Axon contract was postponed to an undetermined date.
Tempe was previously part of a 60-day automated license plate reader pilot program with Scottsdale-based tech company Axon. The three cameras provided by Axon will be removed on Sept. 2, according to City Manager Rosa Inchausti.
Staunch opponents of automated license plate readers still filled the City Council chambers, citing fears that Tempe leadership tried to reinstate automated license plate readers without public input.
"Whether this was included by error or no, it is still concerning," said Nathan Taylortaft, the co-founder of East Valley Unite. Taylortaft has been at the forefront in the fight against automated license plate readers in the East Valley. "Contracting with a company that is openly working towards expanding a racist surveillance state is unacceptable."
Residents in Tempe and Chandler have dogged their city councils for months about Flock Safety cameras. But it wasn't until a string of Flock-related incidents across the Valley that cities began canceling, revising or reviewing their contracts.
Chandler was the first city in metro Phoenix to cancel its contract with Flock, followed by Surprise, Tempe and Cave Creek.
Taylortaft said removing the cameras was a first step but urged further action, like implementing an ordinance to establish guidelines around any future surveillance technology. He proposed the same action to the Chandler City Council.
Lauren De Young covers transportation and the cities of Tempe and Chandler for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at ldeyoung@azcentral.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Clerical error' sparked outrage over license plate readers in Tempe
