The Seattle City Council voted 7-2 to expand the use of police surveillance cameras in the face of vocal opposition by residents and civil rights and community groups worried the system will be used by the Trump administration to persecute immigrants and communities of color.

The council endorsed two measures that add surveillance cameras to three new neighborhoods, incorporates hundreds of Seattle Department of Transportation cameras and expands the reach of the Seattle Police Department’s new Real Time Crime Center. Both pieces of legislation are part of a pilot program begun last year and expanded Tuesday before their efficacy could be measured.

Councilmember Bob Kettle, the chair of the public safety committee and sponsor of the bills, said the measures were rushed in anticipation of

See Full Page