Berkeley has abandoned at least temporarily a plan to bulk up its police surveillance network with new video cameras, drones and software supplied by the firm Flock Safety. The City Council voted 8-1 Thursday to pull the plug on a proposed $2 million surveillance network expansion sought by police, though it did not close the door on contracting with Flock for the technology in the future. In the short term, the council renewed Berkeley's lease of 52 of the tech giant's automated license plate readers for up to another year, at a cost of up to $200,000.
The Antioch Police Oversight Commission voted 6-0 to recommend the removal of Commissioner Treva Hadden due to her excessive unexcused absences from meetings. Having missed more than three meetings in a year, the vote places her status in the hands of the Antioch City Council. Hadden was appointed for a three-year term in February 2024 and is currently an ethics investigator in Oakland. If removed, she will be the second commissioner this year to leave before completing her term, following Leslie May's resignation.