Machinist Mason Grimmett criticized the Wichita Police Department’s reliance on high-speed equipment that reads, logs and converts into searchable files the license plate of everyone driving in range of nearly 200 specialized cameras in the city. Last month, Grimmett used his five-minute public comment slot at a June meeting of the Wichita City Council to express apprehension about local law enforcement’s deployment of cameras capable of capturing images of plates on moving vehicles day or night. The city’s warrantless effort to document routine movement of street traffic placed images in a database that could be retrieved and shared with other law enforcement agencies. “The Wichita Police Department, and others, can reconstruct where you sleep, work, worship, seek medical treatment, protest, who you associate with — currently without a warrant,” he said. On Wednesday, Grimmett amplified his position by becoming the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed in Sedgwick County District Court asserting the city’s “dragnet surveillance program” violated the Kansas Constitution. The city of Wichita’s policy is not to comment on pending litigation. Kansas Justice Institute litigation director Sam MacRoberts, who is representing Grimmett, said the suit was based on a belief the state constitution didn’t authorize the government to place every citizen under persistent, AI-powered surveillance just because it might lead to the capture of alleged criminals.
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