Rahul Sidhu@rahul
Last year, the city of Austin turned off their Flock cameras as the result of a targeted misinformation campaign.
This weekend, for nearly 24 hours, three suspects drove around Austin in stolen vehicles, undetected, conducting a shooting spree at 12 separate locations. They shot multiple people, houses, apartment buildings, businesses, and fire stations. They committed multiple robberies and car thefts during the spree. Despite a full manhunt involving 200 officers, with helicopter and K9 support, they weren't able to locate the suspects, and the spree continued.
Luckily, the suspects drove into the Flock-supported city of Manor, TX. Manor is a small city with ~20k residents, and a fraction of Austin's budget. What they do have is modern technology and the ability not to fall victim to misinformation campaigns.
After the suspects drove into Manor to continue their shooting spree, Manor PD located them almost immediately. The residents of Manor stayed safe.
This is a tale of two cities.
I love Austin. I have plenty of friends who live there. I myself almost moved there years ago. I'm glad that the shooting spree is over, but I just wish it never happened.
