On September 22, dozens of Springfield residents came to City Hall to speak about the 41 Flock license plate reader cameras watching our streets. Many brought written statements. According to the local group Flock Out SGF, not one of those residents was heard.

Councilor Brandon Jenson had proposed a full review of the city's Flock contracts, and the public was supposed to weigh in. Instead, Mayor Jeff Schrag moved the review to committee with no public comment, and the council went along with it in a 5-3 vote. When people objected, the mayor cleared the room and switched off the meeting cameras.

Then two residents were handcuffed. Noah Powell, a local freelance photographer, was detained and ticketed as the crowd filed out. Later that night, Mia Hyder, who had just moved here and was attending her very first public meeting, stood up during public comment to read a statement against the cameras. Her microphone was cut, and a police officer arrested her and led her out of the room. Both left with tickets.

Tempers ran high, and not everything said that night was polite. But handcuffing people at a public meeting about their own privacy tells everyone in Springfield that speaking up can cost you. "This isn't how government is supposed to run," Councilor Jenson said before the vote, according to 404 Media.

I'm asking Mayor Schrag and the Springfield City Council to do two things. First, see that the tickets against Noah Powell and Mia Hyder are dropped. Second, bring the Flock contract review back to the full council and hold a real public hearing where residents can speak before any decision is made.

Sign the petition to tell Springfield leaders to drop the charges and let residents be heard before the Flock review moves forward.