County police cancel anti-theft demo

announcement.

“We of course are [o]pposed to this measure and are against the expansion of state surveillance under the guise of ‘community policing’ and ‘public safety’ as these measures do not keep communities safe,” 1Hood Power, an affiliate of 1Hood Media tweeted.

The tweet went on to say that this program could create “a huge opportunity for unnecessary police encounters and harassment of Black residents,” as well as other people who are “just trying to enjoy public parks.”

1Hood Power also pointed out that the county did not address what officers would do if they found anything illegal in the vehicle.

Various county residents responded to 1Hood Power’s tweets calling the program “shameful” and a “waste of resources.”

Councilwoman Bethany Hallam also took to Twitter to say that this program had “potential for serious 4th Amendment violations.”

As a result, she is sponsoring a new ordinance in council that seeks to prohibit any “stop, search, inspection, review, or seizure” of a person’s property within county parks without a search warrant or probable cause.

The ordinance goes on to say that “although it is presumed by Council that the program likely is well-intentioned” participation may have a “chilling effect on the public’s use and enjoyment” of the parks.

There is also concern that this type of search would violate people’s Fourth Amendment rights, which designates that people have the right to be secure in their possessions against searches and seizures without a warrant.

The ordinance acknowledges that the Fourth Amendment pertaining to vehicle searches continues to change, but previous court cases have set a precedent that, generally, searches cannot be done without any probable cause.

At Tuesday evening’s County Council meeting, the ordinance was passed over to the Public Safety Committee chaired by Councilwoman Olivia Bennett for further discussion.