Nathan Calouro
Role at the time: Bristol Town Council chairman (I) running for reelection
Statement summary
Bristol Town Council Chairman Nathan Calouro said the Flock camera makes sense if it helps police find and bring back abducted family members, and said Bristol adopted an ordinance and police policy for it.
“Flock Camera is a hot issue. As I said at one of the meetings, if my family was abducted and this allows the police department to find them and bring them back, then it makes sense to me. We are the only community that I’m aware of, and I’m happy to be educated otherwise, that took efforts to put in an ordinance, that took efforts to put in a policy with the police department. I’m not aware of another community that did that. I’d also like to be clear and say that I would fully support state legislation on this, but that hasn’t come to us yet. Bristol has never been in a place to wait for somebody else to decide to ensure the people of Bristol are safe, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Steve Ahlquist published a transcript, edited for clarity, and video of the Bristol Town Council candidate forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island and the East Bay Media Group at the Bristol State House.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Calouro supports the camera because it could help police find abducted family members and points to the ordinance and police policy Bristol adopted. He supports state legislation but sets no condition on the current camera, so Defended or excused fits.