The Syracuse police department confirmed Axon readers became active Monday morning.
Patrick McCarthy
Patrick McCarthy is a staff reporter at Central Current covering government and politics. A graduate of Syracuse University’s Maxwell and Newhouse Schools, McCarthy was born and raised in Syracuse and attended Nottingham High School.
Before joining the Central Current team, he worked as a writer at Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo and wrote concert reviews for syracuse.com | The Post Standard. McCarthy also served as a contributing writer for TriplePundit, a publication focused on sustainability and corporate responsibility. In his role with Central Current, he provides access and transparency to elected officials – helping raise accountability and connecting readers to the decisions that shape Central New York.
Patrick McCarthy can be reached at pmccarthy@centralcurrent.org
Posted inPolicing
Legal experts to advocate for Syracuse to preserve its Citizen Review Board in meeting with lawmakers
The Common Council’s Public Safety committee will host Alan Rosenthal, considered an architect of the CRB, and NYCLU.
Posted inPolicing
Syracuse never posted its license plate reader policy. Chief Mark Rusin plans to change that before activating Axon readers
Rusin said the department is working with Axon to meet requirements laid out four years ago by surveillance oversight experts and authorized by the mayor.
Posted inPolicing
Flock Safety removes its license plate readers, finalizing eight-month breakup with City of Syracuse
All readers have been removed, police and the company said. One lawmaker who led efforts to remove them called on other entities to also cut ties to Flock.
Posted inPolicing
State lawmaker Pam Hunter pushing to regulate license plate reader surveillance
Hunter, the speaker pro tempore of the New York State Assembly, in April introduced a bill to restrict license plate readers, calling them a “weaponization of technology.”
Posted inNews
How democratic socialists reshaped the Central New York political landscape
DSA members and progressives pulled off Democrats’ second historic election upset in less than a year. An organized campaign and a rising affordability crisis helped topple a CNY titan.
Posted inElections
Maurice ‘Mo’ Brown declares victory while Magnarelli concedes in Democratic primary for Assembly seat
One DSA member likened Brown’s victory to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s unlikely rise in 2018, calling it, “Central New York’s ‘Joe Crowley moment.’”
Posted inJustice & Equity
After 35 years of research and no solution, Onondaga Nation’s leader laments the cultural cost of mudboils
Mudboils have spewed hundreds of tons of silt, sand and clay into the Onondaga Creek, which has prevented the Onondagas from using their sacred waterway for fishing, harvesting and gatherings.
Posted inPolicing
Syracuse police used Flock Safety readers for nearly a month after readers were supposed to be taken down
A city law required Flock to take down its license plate readers by May 26. Syracuse police continued using the readers after Flock left them up.
Posted inElections
Brown leads incumbent Magnarelli in Democratic primary for Assembly seat but race is too close to call
If Brown’s lead holds, he could be poised to complete one of the biggest upsets in Central New York political history.
