By Paul Wisniewski
CHEEKTOWAGA — The question Cheektowaga residents kept asking after prosecutors declined to bring charges in the town’s license plate camera scandal was simple: what happens to the employees? Now there is an answer, and it is likely to sharpen the debate when the Town Board meets again this week.
A police officer and two dispatchers who used the town’s Flock license plate reader system to follow a co-worker have been suspended without being fired, WKBW’s I-Team reported on Oct. 23. The officer received a 20-day suspension and the two dispatchers 45 days each. All three were given final warnings and signed one-year “last chance” agreements, according to the station.
219 searches of one plate
The details reported by WKBW’s Julia Soluri show how far the misuse went. The three employees searched the license plate of a fellow town employee 123, 72 and 24 times, a total of 219 searches, to track whether she was meeting another employee on lunch breaks.
The Chronicle is not naming the employees, who were not criminally charged.
Earlier this month, the Erie County District Attorney’s office concluded that the conduct, while improper, did not break the law. “The allegations did not rise to the level of criminal conduct,” the office said, as reported by WKBW’s Ed Drantch. The Chronicle covered that decision on Oct. 18, when discipline and oversight were still the open questions.
What the town has changed
Cheektowaga has almost 30 Flock cameras. Since the misuse came to light, the system now keeps data for 7 days instead of 30 and requires a case number for every search, WKBW reported.
Supervisor Brian Nowak told residents at a Town Board meeting earlier this month that the town had tightened its controls, according to WKBW.
“We have made some changes regarding who has access to that system in terms of town employees,” Nowak said.
“We have made some changes in the oversight of the system. There is still some more work to do,” he added.
Nowak also defended the cameras’ value to police. “You have to weigh both,” he said.
Residents split on dismantling or reining in
At that same meeting, residents pushed back. Some wanted the cameras gone.
“It is time for us to completely dismantle our Flock system,” one resident told the board, WKBW reported.
Others drew a narrower line. “I am not against Flock cameras. I am against the abuses and the fact that we do not have sufficient guardrails,” another said.
The discipline now on record gives both camps something to point to. Supporters of the system can argue the town found the misuse, punished it and shortened how long it keeps data. Critics can argue that 219 searches of a colleague’s car ended with suspensions rather than firings, and that the people who misused the system may return to jobs with access to it.
Questions still unanswered
Several things the public record does not yet show are worth asking at the next meeting:
- Will the disciplined employees regain access to Flock when they return, and who decides?
- Does the town audit Flock searches on a regular schedule, and will it publish those audits?
- Has the town adopted a written policy on who may use the system and for what, and will the board vote on it?
- How were the 219 searches discovered, and how long did they go on before anyone noticed?
Flock systems keep a log of every search, which is how misuse like this can be traced at all. Some municipalities around the country publish regular audit reports or post transparency portals showing how their cameras are used. Cheektowaga has not announced plans for either.
Next meeting
The Cheektowaga Town Board’s next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 27 at Town Hall, 3301 Broadway. Residents can speak during the public comment portion.
This report draws on reporting by WKBW, credited and linked above.
Leave a Reply