Mayor Matt Mahan says San Jose "can't let fear of new tools get in the way of the safety of our families"
Matt MahanMayor of San Jose and a named defendant in his official capacity, in a statement to KQED
In a statement to KQED on the day the lawsuit was filed, Mayor Matt Mahan said the city has built data privacy and security measures into its plate reader system, including regular deletion of data not used in an investigation. He said fear of new tools should not get in the way of public safety and said the system is a big part of the reason the city has solved 100 percent of homicides over the past three years.
“built in robust data privacy and security measures throughout our ALPR system, including regular deletion of collected data that is not being actively used in an investigation ... While we take seriously our responsibility for data privacy and security, we can’t let fear of new tools get in the way of the safety of our families, especially given that this system is a big part of the reason we’ve solved 100% of homicides over the past three years”
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Judge dismisses challenge to San Jose police's warrantless queries of Flock camera data
On October 2, 2026, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey El-Hajj dismissed a lawsuit by SIREN and CAIR California that sought to require San Jose police to get a warrant before querying the city's stored license plate reader data. The plaintiffs, represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU of Northern California, argued that the warrantless searches violate the California Constitution's protections against unreasonable searches and its right to privacy. The city argued that images of vehicles taken on public streets carry no protected privacy interest. Applying a 2024 state appeals court decision on San Diego streetlight cameras, the judge found no reasonable expectation of privacy in the plate data or in later queries of it, and he denied leave to amend. EFF says it will appeal.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
KQED's report on the day the lawsuit was filed. It summarizes the complaint, quotes ACLU of Northern California staff attorney Nick Hidalgo and CAIR's Zahra Billoo, says the city attorney's office did not respond and the police department declined to comment, and quotes a statement from Mayor Matt Mahan defending the system.
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About this source
KQED's report on the San Jose City Council's unanimous March 10, 2026 vote to tighten rules for its 474 Flock cameras, including a 30-day default retention period, limits on camera placement near reproductive health care facilities and places of worship, and new requirements for agencies requesting data. It quotes Police Chief Paul Joseph, Mayor Matt Mahan and critics, including a SIREN organizer.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
SIREN and CAIR California filed the lawsuit on November 18, 2025. KQED reported that the city attorney's office did not respond to a request for comment and that the police department declined to comment because of the litigation.
After the quotation
At the time, San Jose kept plate data for one year. On March 10, 2026, the City Council voted unanimously to cut default retention to 30 days and add other limits, and Mahan defended the city's approach during the debate, according to KQED.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the San Jose Police Department's practice of querying the city's stored license plate reader data without a warrant. Mahan, a named defendant, says the system has strong privacy safeguards and that fear of new tools should not get in the way of safety, which defends the city's use of the system the lawsuit challenged, so we used Defended or excused. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, because he says the city takes its privacy responsibility seriously; it loses because that point supports his defense of the system rather than limiting it. He does not address the warrant question by name.
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More from this case
Read the full caseEFF says the dismissal "is wrong on the law" and that it "will appeal"
Electronic Frontier Foundation
“Make no mistake: We believe this ruling is wrong on the law, and we will appeal. ... Networked ALPRs are not individual streetlight cameras. Their net effect of tracking and mapping cars as they travel reveals patterns of life, intimate relationships, and much more.”Read statement
SIREN's Huy Tran says the cameras "have been used to target immigrants already"
Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network
“These cameras have been used to target immigrants already, but the reality is that we all will be subject to their far-reaching impact”Read statement
EFF's Andrew Crocker says San Jose police "could get a warrant" and calls the city's new limits "insufficient"
“Clearly these cities are recognizing there’s a problem, and I don’t think that restrictions like this are going to solve that problem. Really any use of ALPRs is harmful, and the only way to stop the risk of this kind of abuse is to end their use in these cities ... Short of that, they could get a warrant, they could go before a court and present probable cause to run these searches, which is what we’re seeking in this lawsuit ... San José has not done that. San Francisco has not done that. So it’s insufficient, and it’s very likely that we will see further abuse of these systems.”Read statement
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- Mayor Matt Mahan says San Jose "can't let fear of new tools get in the way of the safety of our families"
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The Dispute Index. "Mayor Matt Mahan says San Jose "can't let fear of new tools get in the way of the safety of our families"". First published: 2026-10-14. Last updated: 2026-10-14. https://disputeindex.com/events/5694-in-a-statement-to-kqed-on-the-day