Darien Man Takes Anti-Cop Camera Campaign To Next Level

DARIEN, IL – It is rare that Darien or practically any other U.S. town gets compared to North Korea.

But a man who identifies himself as a Darien resident is making the case that the local police department's license plate reader cameras resemble the Asian country's "surveillance state."

Last month, Henry Fiorentino said at a City Council meeting that the department's surveillance cameras were a "disgusting" overreach of government power.

"This is an unacceptable violation of our Fourth Amendment rights," he said at the time. "The government has no right to track where we go, when we go there or how often we do if we are not suspected of any crime. This is not how a free society operates."

Recently, Fiorentino mailed a flyer to residents, warning about Darien's Flock brand cameras. He only identified himself as Henry, saying he lives on Country Lane.

He referred to North Korea, saying local cameras are how a repressive country operates. He noted the cameras record every car, even if a driver is not suspected of a crime. (Many other towns operate similar equipment.)

"These cameras create a searchable database of your exact location as you go to work, attend church and visit your doctor," Fiorentino said. "Flock cameras are being installed throughout Darien, recording every vehicle, every day."

He asked residents to show up at meetings of the City Council and its police committee and tell officials to remove the cameras.

No residents spoke about the issue during the public comment period at Monday's council meeting.

Referring to Fiorentino's previous statements, Alderman Thomas Belczak said he didn't think the cameras were a constitutional issue.

He asked Police Chief Greg Thomas about how long the police department retains the camera data.

Thomas said the police follow the industry standard of 30 days, although a bill in the state legislature calls for reducing the maximum to three minutes.

"Whatever the law is, we will follow it," he said.