Troy council hears Flock camera opposition, condemns threat against Muslim men at library

A 7-0 vote approved a covered carport for the Troy Public Library bookmobile, and the consent agenda passed unanimously, including a $2.37 million water main contract and a settlement in the Rochester Road condemnation case.

Troy City Council regular meeting, Monday, September 14, 2026, City Council Chambers, Troy City Hall, 500 W. Big Beaver Road

Public comment on Flock Safety license plate reader cameras again dominated Monday's Troy City Council meeting. Ten speakers addressed topics not on the agenda, nine individuals and one student group, and six of them urged the council to end or rethink the city's Flock contract.

Council members also responded to a September 12 incident outside the Troy Public Library. Four Muslim men staffing a table offering free English translations of the Quran reported that a man threatened to kill them. Every council member responded, and all but one explicitly condemned anti-Muslim hate; Council Member Mark Gunn said he was sorry for Ali's community and would support treating everyone in the city fairly. Mayor Baker noted that a pending criminal case limits what they can say about the specifics.

No Flock action was on the agenda, but at least one position moved. Mayor Pro Tem Hirak Chanda, who backed an ordinance on August 31, said his stance is "actually changing" after hearing from residents, and he asked colleagues to consider restricting data sharing, a temporary shutdown, or alternatives. Council Member David Hamilton said he stands by his August 31 remarks and called for canceling the contract. Council Members Rebecca Chamberlain and Annalisa Bluhm said an ordinance governing surveillance technology is the right next step. Mayor Ethan Baker floated a community information session with the police chief and asked City Manager Frank Nastasi when requested information would come back to council.

All seven council members were present for the votes recorded in the meeting video: Mayor Ethan Baker, Mayor Pro Tem Hirak Chanda, and Council Members Annalisa Bluhm, Theresa Brooks, Rebecca Chamberlain, Mark Gunn and David Hamilton.

Significant events

Council condemns threat outside Troy Public Library

Resident Alim Ali described the Saturday, September 12 incident during public comment. He said four Muslim men were at a table outside the library from 3 to 5 p.m. when a man asked if they were Muslim, reached toward his back pocket and touched his gun, and threatened to kill all four of them. He said the man also claimed all Muslims are terrorists and said he would kill all Muslims in the country if he could. Ali thanked police for responding quickly. He also said the council should have issued at least a general statement condemning hate, even with an investigation pending.

According to news reports, Troy police arrested a 79-year-old Troy man at the scene. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald announced Monday that Peter Hamilton Northup was charged with four counts of aggravated hate crime. Police said he was carrying a loaded pistol, and Troy police recovered 19 firearms after seeking an extreme risk protection order. The charges are accusations, and he is presumed innocent.

Council Member Hamilton said he "unequivocally" condemned the incident. Mayor Pro Tem Chanda said there is "no room for hate in Troy." Council Member Chamberlain apologized to Ali's community and offered to visit, as she did at Temple Shir Tikvah after a shooting that affected Metro Detroit's Jewish community. Mayor Baker said he knows the men who usually staff the table, called them "kind souls," and said council members are willing to come to mosques, synagogues and churches "whatever it takes."

Flock contract: where each member stands

The discussion follows the August 31 meeting, where Police Chief Joshua Jones explained how the system works. According to the draft minutes approved Monday, council reached consensus that night to ask the administration for four things: whether an ordinance is advisable or would be effective, options for an advisory ballot question or other ways to gather broader resident input, more information on Flock data-sharing policies, and next steps. No action on the contract was on Monday's agenda. Summarized positions from the response period:

• Hamilton: Cancel the contract, shut down the cameras and "let the people decide ultimately" whether they want them. (The August 31 draft minutes summarize his position that night as supporting stricter measures and a ballot question.) He said resident Kevin's comments matched his own views "almost verbatim."
• Chanda: His position is shifting from the ordinance approach he backed August 31. He cited a national YouGov poll he said showed 46% opposition and 38% support, and said nearly everyone contacting him opposes Flock. He supports limiting data use to local or Michigan partners at minimum, and asked colleagues to consider a temporary shutdown, though he noted it would mean paying for an unused service.
• Chamberlain: Unchanged from August 31. She wants to pursue an ordinance because codified rules are harder for a future council to undo, and she would accept further study sessions.
• Bluhm: Unchanged. Without codified rules on use and governance, she said, canceling one vendor just continues "a problem with another name." She also called for state and federal action on third-party data access.
• Gunn: Trusts Troy police but understands concerns about a third-party company holding the data. He said an ordinance "probably is something that we need to look at."
• Brooks: Unchanged "at this time." She called the questions necessary and said the city should look at what it can control locally while state and federal law catches up.
• Baker: Struggling with private-company data storage but reluctant to take a tool from police. He proposed an information session, possibly at the Troy Community Center, and asked the administration for a timeline.

City Manager Frank Nastasi said he had spoken with City Attorney Lori Grigg Bluhm and Police Chief Joshua Jones about a forum with an educational component and more resident feedback. Asked when the information requested August 31 would come back, he said he was not sure yet and would check with staff and report back. The work was described as actively underway.

Mayor signals pet shop ordinance push

Baker told colleagues he may seek consensus at the next regular meeting, September 28, to take action on a pet shop ordinance. He pointed to Berkley, where he said an existing pet shop was grandfathered in, as a possible model.

What council decided

Decided at this meeting Pending, in study, or set for a future meeting

Vote details

Bookmobile carport discussion

Library Director Emily Dumas presented the carport request. The staff memo says the library serves about 89,000 residents across 34 square miles from one building. The city bought the bookmobile from Farber Specialty Vehicles of Columbus, Ohio, in February 2023 and took delivery in September 2024. In its first 22 months it made 1,021 stops, drew 23,127 visitors, circulated 32,958 items and hosted 222 programs. It now makes 50 to 60 stops a month, including all 19 Troy School District schools.

In response to a council member's question, Dumas said a $200,000 bequest covered most of the bookmobile's $250,000 cost. She said staff take the vehicle out in all but the worst icy conditions and praised Debbie, the primary bookmobile coordinator. The Department of Public Works has provided winter parking, but staff currently rent a storage pod each month and ferry materials in their personal cars. Answering a follow-up question, apparently from Mayor Pro Tem Chanda, Dumas said the covered, open-sided carport will sit in the smaller back lot by the loading dock on the side nearest City Hall. One accessible parking space there will be removed, and another will remain.

Public comment timeline

Items not on the agenda, from Troy residents and businesses. Times are from the meeting video. Speakers get three minutes and council does not reply until everyone has spoken.

1. 13:05Mayor Baker reviewed the three-minute rule and timer lights.
2. 13:35Beau Taylor, Troy resident and head of the Public Lighting Authority of Detroit, said he played a central role in installing surveillance cameras in Detroit, where council deliberated in public and held him accountable. He said Troy's approval, which he described as coming through a subcontract in 2023, lacked that kind of public deliberation. He argued the cameras disproportionately harm people with darker skin, cited federal immigration enforcement, and called Flock in Troy "a solution looking for a problem." He urged council members to follow the example of a 17-year-old student, an apparent reference to James Cristiano, founder of No Flock In Troy, who spoke August 31.
3. 16:50Jasmine Schwab cited the Institute for Justice for a count of 63 documented instances of police misusing the system; the organization's tracked total was reported as at least 47 in late August and is updated as cases surface. Her examples were officers in Kentucky and Kenosha, Wis., who allegedly tracked former partners, and a Florida officer who allegedly used the cameras to stop a woman he had met once. The Kentucky case involves a Shively police officer accused of running more than 2,000 searches on the mother of his child. She said a Madison Heights cannabis dispensary manager told her cameras were aimed at his lot. Speaking as a cancer patient and a survivor of stalking, kidnapping and rape, she said the system gives too much power to people who misuse it.
4. 19:13Jason Schwab read from the Declaration of Independence and said residents who elected the council can vote members out. He objected to tracking visits to gun stores or dispensaries and cited Clawson, which declined to renew its Flock contract in May, and Bay City as places that listened to residents.
5. 21:59Project Synara, a Troy High School student epilepsy awareness group, thanked council for lighting City Hall purple in February. The group asked for annual purple lighting on March 26 and the third Wednesday of October, flyers at the library and community center, and a November citywide seizure first aid certification day. Members said they have trained more than 300 students and staff and work with the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan. One speaker is a lifeguard at the Troy Family Aquatic Center.
6. 24:30Alim Ali, a Troy resident for 53 years, described the September 12 threat against four Muslim men outside the library. He asked council to condemn the hate crime and rhetoric that emboldens it. He said anti-Muslim bigotry is at levels not seen since 9/11 and that leaders can issue general statements quickly even during an investigation.
7. 27:35Susan, a season pass holder, thanked the city and staff of the Troy Family Aquatic Center. She said she visited 68 days this summer and completed 3,800 pool lap walks.
8. 28:59Kevin, a data scientist, said he trusts Troy police but not a private company holding plate data. He said AI-driven cyberthreats are opening new vulnerabilities, Troy is already safe, and residents should not be "guinea pigs" for a young vendor. He said he agreed with Hamilton's August 31 remarks.
9. 32:14Joyce Barnett of the Ezra Parker Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, marked Constitution Week and the 239th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution on September 17. She invited residents to Bells Across America at 4 p.m. Thursday at Centennial Commons in Royal Oak, and pointed interested women to dar.org.
10. 34:08John Coski said the post-9/11 response did greater moral damage than the attacks, including torture, black sites and a surveillance network turned inward. He tied that to current immigration enforcement and urged council to "cancel the cameras" as a first step.
11. 37:31Devin Kenny, who said he has lived in Troy most of his life, praised Troy police for adding safeguards. He said license plate reader systems are built to share data nationally, so local limits are temporary, and asked council to cancel the contract and look at alternatives for any specific enforcement gaps.

Council and administration response timeline

1. 39:45Hamilton condemned anti-Muslim hate, said he stands by his August 31 remarks, and called for canceling the Flock contract and shutting down the cameras.
2. 40:35Chanda praised Project Synara, condemned Islamophobia and praised Troy police's response. He said his Flock stance is changing: he cited a neighbor's report of an allegation that Flock was used to track a Navy veteran, national polling, and pending lawsuits, including a class action in Georgia. He proposed restricting data sharing and asked colleagues to consider a temporary shutdown or alternatives.
3. 45:40Chamberlain apologized to Ali and offered to stand with the Muslim community. She said her great-grandmother was a DAR member and suggested a Constitution Week tie-in with the Troy Historic Village's America 250 work. She thanked aquatic center staff and said she still wants to pursue a surveillance ordinance.
4. 49:45Bluhm condemned the threat and said Ali is a former colleague. She said her daughter has epilepsy, offered to connect Project Synara with Communications Director Courtney Flynn, and restated her support for an ordinance plus state and federal action.
5. 52:20Gunn (identified by speaking order and remarks) offered support to Ali's community and Project Synara and thanked Susan. He described security needs at commercial buildings his team manages, said he trusts Troy police, acknowledged third-party data concerns and said an ordinance review may be needed.
6. 56:20Brooks condemned Islamophobia and said her daughter at Troy High is part of the same epilepsy effort. She said her Flock stance is unchanged for now and that the city should act on what it can control.
7. 59:55Baker condemned the threat, thanked each speaker, invited a written lighting request and praised Jasmine Schwab's courage. He asked Nastasi for a timeline on requested Flock information and proposed an information session.
8. 1:07:50City Manager Frank Nastasi said he is working with the city attorney and police chief on a forum and more resident feedback and would report back.

Council comments timeline

1. 1:08:55Gunn promoted Troy Family Daze and its September 17 naturalization ceremony. He thanked Somerset Collection for an August 30 fashion show featuring students with special needs and congratulated police on an online scam arrest. On the recording he named the Detroit Police Department; it is unclear whether he meant Troy police, who made an investment-scam arrest in July.
2. 1:10:25Chamberlain asked City Clerk Dickson how voters should handle absentee ballots given recent federal actions and court rulings. Dickson said she sits on legislative committees of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks and the Oakland County Clerks Association. About 20,000 absentee ballots are being prepared. Voters can pick up their own ballot in person with photo ID on September 24 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and remaining ballots mail September 28. Ballots can be returned by mail, but she recommended the city's five drop boxes, the early voting center, or the voter's polling place, where voters can feed the ballot into the tabulator themselves. She urged voters to rely on the Clerk's Office rather than word of mouth.
3. 1:14:50Bluhm encouraged attendance at the naturalization ceremony, which she attends in memory of her late father, an Italian immigrant who died before becoming a citizen. She promoted the Troy vs. Athens football game Friday at Troy High School and congratulated National Merit Scholars from Troy High, Athens High and the International Academy.
4. 1:16:25Chanda, a naturalized citizen, promoted the naturalization ceremony and the Troy Family Daze parade Saturday morning. The parade steps off at 10 a.m. from Walsh College, with lineup at 9. He also noted a 60th anniversary celebration at the Troy Historic Village on September 10; the Troy Historical Society was organized in 1966.
5. 1:17:55Baker credited the Troy Community Foundation and city staff for running Troy Family Daze, the foundation's largest fundraiser. He noted International Day on Sunday, organized with the Global Troy Advisory Committee, and gave notice of a possible pet shop ordinance push September 28.
6. 1:20:19No public comment from non-residents, no closed session. Meeting adjourned.

Dates ahead

• September 17 to 20: Troy Family Daze at the Troy Civic Center, with the naturalization ceremony Thursday.
• September 24: absentee ballot pickup day at the City Clerk's Office, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• September 28: next regular council meeting, with board appointments and a possible pet shop ordinance discussion. Absentee ballots mail the same day.
• October 5: regular meeting, including the Firefighters Incentive Plan public hearing.
• October 19: last day to register to vote by mail or online.
• October 24 to November 1: early voting at the Troy Community Center.
• November 3: general election, polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.