Alexandra Thorn

The ad hoc group I've been organizing with has submitted a petition for a public hearing about #Somerville #bodycameras. Per city charter, City Council must hold a public hearing within three months. Please stay tuned! #surveillance #policing

On Friday, the Mayor also released this self-congratulatory video about the body camera policy that he's hoping will be passed on Monday: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbJLZDzRjl3/ (apologies for the Instagram link) It's important to note that despite the fact that Mayor Wilson mentions #oversight in the same breath as body cameras, no civilian oversight body exists in #Somerville at this time, and creating one will likely take years. #SomervilleMA #MAPol #policing

The memorandum of understanding on body cameras also still gives police the right to review footage before filing reports, which is problematic because: 1) #bodycamera footage offers a distorted low quality view of what happened, 2) human memory is mutable so officers' memories of what happened may change to accommodate what they think they see in the footage, and 3) it gives the opportunity for an officer acting in bad faith to check what misrepresentations they can get away with. #Somerville

There's another update on #Somerville #BodyCameras posted here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vS6Lvi0cNzhztgzCyB-Ie28CSLJi1xzYOg6mEpNvXN_SJO4Dhyy2F6ZZJk-lBwd3zCissDDkIUXCu86/pub We finally have the memorandum of understanding on body cameras, and unfortunately it still says the data will be controlled by the police, with civilians only able to access the footage through public records requests. #MAPol #SomervilleMA #surveillance

Some folks from the #Somerville DSA group put together these slides with tips on how to prepare public comment for the Special Meeting on #bodycameras tomorrow. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1xmdAuHLzOOFhmdxZE3nWoZ7SveOiNW2mstvn7xPvr6Q/edit?usp=sharing #SomervilleMA #surveillance #policing #MAPol

We're asking #Somerville residents concerned about the rushed process on body camera policy to attend the special meeting on July 27th to insist on proper deliberation. We have an action toolkit here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQ8FOlm5fCo7-s3jubaDq79i0hHhamUw-o7DTxcLpo4GaBwuGvBNPiZy-d_RB6gvKmh6fSivtO42CZ7/pub #bodycameras #policing #surveillance #privacy #MAPol #Somerville MA

Up until now, Somerville's official 2026 conversations about #bodycamera policy for #Somerville have largely occurred in non-public executive sessions because the negotiations were tied to the police collective bargaining process, and we are now in budget season, which means that there's danger of the process being fast-tracked without properly public deliberation.

Last night the #Somerville Legislative Matters Committee decided to hold the #bodycameras proposal in committee rather than voting to approve it. It's not clear what the next steps will be (stay tuned), but for now they are not moving forward on the proposal for body cameras without civilian oversight. Thank you so much to everyone who wrote or called in to council to express concern about the city's proposal! #MAPol #SomervilleMA #surveillance

From the perspective of those of us trying to provide current information on this issue to the public, it's incredibly frustrating that *after* the Mayor scheduled this Special Meeting (on very short notice), he then proceeded to update the policy that is being discussed at the special meeting, just two business days before the public is supposed to provide comment (and the Council is supposed to vote). #surveillance #policing #MAPol #SomervilleMA #privacy #Somerville

Here is the latest update from the Somerville ad hoc group working on the body cameras issue: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRiU1P7QeQoR9Tbx-xr1wzevoa7D5UnRo8kRdEws6CFHLEgDCU7EzDkR60PAv4Rk0FByuZemkjya95c/pub The very short version is that the Mayor is still trying to rush this specific body cameras policy through without proper deliberation and that #Somerville is holding a special meeting on July 27th for public comment *and* a vote. This is *not* the public comment session that was requested by petition. #bodycameras #SomervilleMA #policing #surveillance #privacy #MAPol

An OCR'd version of the current Somerville Memorandum of Understanding on body camera use is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wyNH99s9MREk18L44uK7HRb5Khv-bUX5/view #SomervilleMA #bodycameras

For anyone interested in a more complete update on the #Somerville #bodycameras deliberations, one of my collaborators put together this document summarizing ways to support our organizing: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSLHo6CD3P8L-EGbsr7pqxXf0CaU1A-XhsXV95ES43uPehjHgTpnwEORUTq_H_87V3nw2cEwSTgSMnY/pub #surveillance #SomervilleMA #MAPol #MAPoli

@BeegyPsi@mastodon.online @drewharwell@mastodon.social Tangent: a while back, I saw a Mastodon thread in which a number of people were pointing out that if media outlets start hosting their own Mastodon instances, chances are that they would not allow journalists who leave their company to automatically export their follower-lists to their new platforms. I found that point rather thought-provoking.

@TheSirFin@mstdn.social @BeegyPsi@mastodon.online @drewharwell@mastodon.social If their employer allows them to, yes.

Update: On July 23rd, the Mayor introduced a new version of the STIR and TSSUP for police #bodycameras in #Somerville. The new documents clarify a number of policy points, but don't substantively address the concerns we've highlighted in our toolkit above. #surveillance #policing #MAPol #SomervilleMA #privacy

From one of our #Somerville City Councilors: https://jonforsomerville.beehiiv.com/p/on-body-worn-cameras #SomervilleMA #bodycameras #citybudgets

Here is a generic-language version of the email I just sent to #Somerville Council about police #bodycameras for the 12pm deadline. https://sandstorm.appux.com/shared/lGlNKXBAaxeBW0-1FUCMihCp9r-K3h6HryHO2vNa4oa If you are delivering public comment tonight, feel free to adapt ideas in there. It's a complicated issue, and I know that concerns differ. #SomervilleMA #MAPol #surveillance #policing #privacy