After voting to pause the use of Flock cameras during it’s September 22 meeting, the Lowell City Council has reinstituted the controversial technology in a more limited capacity during an executive session discussion during a subsequent meeting.

InsideLowell has learned the return of the cameras comes with the caveat that Lowell Police are not allowed to share the technology with other law enforcement agencies or Flock itself, without city approval.

Contacted this morning, Mayor Erik Gitschier told InsideLowell he “could not comment on matters discussed during executive session.” Efforts to contact other city councilors have and city officials have resulted in similar statements or gone unreturned.

September’s 6-5 vote to temporarily suspend the use of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) came amidst growing privacy concerns across the United States and touched off a back and forth between Flock and Lowell Mayor Erik Gitschier over what the company does with the data.

City Councilor Corey Robinson recently penned an op-ed regarding an APLR demonstration he attended, and tonight’s City Council meeting agenda includes a joint motion by Robinson and councilor John Descoteaux  to offer a public demonstration of the technology, followed by a question and answer session.

The neighboring Town of Tewksbury saw it’s Police Chief announce the removal of its Flock cameras on September 25, just three days after the Mill City vote, as have a number of other Massachusetts communities in recent months.