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Recent articles on the Santa Cruz City Council’s decision to cancel the Flock Safety contract contains statements from Santa Cruz Police Chief Bernie Escalante.
At a Santa Cruz City Council meeting, the chief says his department “unwittingly” opted into a nationwide sharing portal. He also said SCPD’s Flock data was “inadvertently’ accessed.”
I have problems with each descriptive adverb: unwittingly and inadvertently.
Let’s put the shoe on the other foot:
“Officer, I inadvertently ran that red light …”
“Officer, I unwittingly collided with that bicycle …”
I do not believe inadvertently or unwittingly would be accepted as an excuse for my actions. I would receive the ticket.
I believe the excuse used by the chief should not be accepted by the council, the city or the citizens. If this is the way SCPD is operating, what other operations are being “excused”?
Lee Brokaw
Santa Cruz