Toledo will have a new police chief on November 1, when Assistant Chief Kevin Braun takes over the Toledo Police Department, and Braun is already making the case to keep the city’s Flock license plate reader cameras as Toledo City Council weighs ending the city’s use of them, according to reports by 13 Action News and WTOL 11 on October 23.
Chief Michael Troendle is retiring November 1. Braun, a Toledo native who joined the department in 2000 and worked his way up from sergeant, told reporters he does not intend to start over. He said the department does not need to reinvent the wheel and should expand and grow on the progress it has made, naming professionalism, officer wellness and recruiting as priorities.
Braun said the department will start 2027 with just under 600 officers and that he would like to reach 650, though budget cuts have shrunk recent academy classes, according to the reports.
On the cameras, Braun called Flock “by far the most useful tool that we have ever had on this department,” saying detectives use them in just about every case. He said he sees both sides of the debate, but that strictly from a policing and public safety perspective, it would be detrimental to lose the tool.
Council’s Resolution R-435-26 would urge the mayor to end the city’s use of Flock and avoid new agreements, renewals or extensions. Its sponsors cite privacy, civil liberties, data security, data retention and oversight concerns, including collecting information on people not suspected of any crime.
The resolution did not get the nine votes needed for immediate consideration on Tuesday, which did not decide the issue, and a vote is expected within two weeks. Council also approved a request on September 22 for an audit of how the cameras are used, and at least seven Flock cameras in the Toledo area have been vandalized in recent months, WTOL reported.
Braun takes command November 1 with the camera debate still before council, setting up one of the first major policy decisions of his tenure as chief.
Department information, council agendas and the text of council legislation are posted through the City of Toledo’s official pages, where residents can follow the audit and the upcoming vote on the resolution as Braun prepares to take command.
Photo: Tony Webster, CC BY