Tony Teixeira
Role at the time: Bristol town councilor (I) running for reelection
Statement summary
Bristol Town Councilor Tony Teixeira said he voted for the Flock camera and would do it again, citing police searches for missing or abducted people, and said it is one camera at the bridge approved with parameters.
“I voted in favor, and I would do it again. As my colleague Nathan Calouro already mentioned, “How many of us have children? How many of us have family members that have dementia and so forth?” If they leave your house, you cannot find them, and they are abducted, or they get into a situation where they get injured, hurt, or killed, does the police department have the tools that they need to pursue or do the search? We’re missing that. We approved one camera at the bridge, not in town. There’s a big difference between having an eye on you versus an eye on the bridge, which keeps the flow and can assist, whether it’s the local or the state police. So I support that, although it was already mentioned, we set parameters. We didn’t just approve it outright.”
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. Teixeira says he voted for the camera and would do it again, citing searches for missing or abducted people. He notes the council set parameters, but his support does not depend on a further condition, so Defended or excused fits.