Push for funding freeze on Seattle CCTV program

Push to expand Seattle surveillance camera network is facing a new hurdle at City Hall and FOX 13's Sam Campbell has been tracking this story and joins us live from City Hall with the latest. Sam, good morning. Well, good morning, Bill. So council member Alexis Mercedes-Rink is trying to put a stop to this CCTV expansion. She made this announcement yesterday on social media, posting a proposed amendment to the city budget. So we have a copy of that amendment. Let's bring it up on screen here and we will get into the details. It would freeze all funding for the surveillance camera network. And how much money is that on the line? Well, if it's passed, the amendment would impose strict conditions. On $400,000 meant for the cameras, it's essentially saying you won't get the money until you meet the privacy and safety recommendations. Recommendations like the ones from a recent review by the Office of the Inspector General. The OIG looked at 62 cameras already operating downtown in CID and along Aurora Avenue, and it made three key recommendations for better oversight. Number one, requiring analysts to provide a case number to view footage. Number two. Setting criteria for private cameras and number three, justifying license plate reader searches. Now, an independent audit from the NYU Policing Project also found some issues, saying the CCTV program here would store footage indefinitely and that camera feed access was not documented. Now, supporters say the cameras are a critical tool for police to track down criminals. And we are also tracking an amendment that council member Hollingsworth had proposed a roadblock, so to speak, back in August that would have frozen funding so that they could pause the expansion into Capitol Hill. We have reached out to that council member and many others this morning, and I will bring you their responses as soon as I hear them. But for now, live in Seattle, Sam Campbell, Fox 13 News.