From: Alameda Citizens Task Force
To: Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft; Tony Daysog; Trish Spencer; Malia Vella; Tracy Jensen Cc: Manager Manager; City Clerk; Yibin Shen; Nishant Joshi Subject: [EXTERNAL] Item 10-A, May 2, 2023, City Council Agenda-Termination of Truleo Contract Date: Monday, May 1, 2023 2:35:55 PM
ACT
Alameda Citizens Task Force
Vigilance, Truth, Civility
Dear Mayor Ashcraft, Vice Mayor Daysog & Councilmembers Spencer, Vella and Jenkins:
ACT strongly supports Councilmember Spencer's referral seeking termination of the Truleo contract. We support the monitoring of body worn camera (BWC) audio files for the use of inappropriate language in police interactions with others. However, we believe that Councilmember Spencer has provided good support for the inappropriateness of AI for this task. We are also concerned with the objections of the ACLU which could lead to litigation against the city, especially since Seattle, the only major city that used Truleo, has now terminated their services, leaving Alameda as the "poster child" for marketing on the Truleo website.
We share Councilmember Spencer's concerns about how Truleo got access to the 2020 January thru June BWC audio files and whether any city officer authorized the use of the Alameda program for marketing on the Truleo website. We urge Council to seek clarification of both of these issues with Chief Joshi and City Manager Ott.
We also question Truleo's claim of a 36% reduction of use of force based on a comparison of the 2020 audio files with the audio files for the same period in 2022. There is no indication that the use of force language in either time period was of sufficient volume to be statistically significant.
We urge Council to terminate the Truleo contract and seek removal of any information concerning the Alameda program from their website.
Sincerely,
Alameda Citizens Task Force Board of Directors