The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire and the Concord Monitor are suing the city of Concord to court over a secret type of technology used by police.

A $5,100 line item in this year’s police department budget was set aside for “covert communications equipment.” City officials have argued that they can’t say what the equipment is and what it does – or even which company offers it – because of a nondisclosure agreement with the vendor.

“Using taxpayer money to fund secret police equipment is deeply troubling. The public has a right to know what the City of Concord and its police department spend their money on, and why the city wants to keep this secret equipment hidden from public view,” ACLU attorney Henry Klementowicz. “This right-to-know request is at the very heart of what the law was designed to do: promote transparency.” 

…“Concord’s effort to keep secret its contract for services and the vendor’s privacy and refund policies should be rejected,” the suit states. “While the nature of equipment the city has purchased is not clear, what is clear is that the city has entered into a non-disclosure agreement with an unnamed vendor that requi  res the city to take steps to prevent disclosure of important information to courts, grand juries, and defense counsel.”  

Monitor and ACLU sue Concord over ‘covert’ police equipment

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