Mt. Hope Bridge to implement suicide prevention Flock cameras

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (WLNE) — Two Flock cameras will be placed on either side of the Mt. Hope Bridge, after a 6-1 vote by the Portsmouth Town Council last week.

The town said this is to combat suicide concerns on the bridge.

The cameras can detect and identify certain vehicles based off of their descriptions.

With the help of the Matthew Patton Foundation — an organization dedicated to treating service members and their mental health — the town will begin a year pilot program with the cameras.

Lynn Patton, founder of the foundation, said that if someone is concerned for their loved one near the bridge that may be suicidal, police can utilize the cameras.

“They would put that info into the camera,” said Patton. “It would flash only for those cars near that description, and it doesn’t catch the driver, just the lower part of the car.”

The foundation was created in honor of the Patton’s late veteran son, Matthew. He died of suicide in 2013 after battling PTSD for years.

Patton explained that “right then and there, they will send a cruiser up and a couple cruisers around that area as well so that we can search that area until we see that car. We can intervene before they even get up the bridge.”

Between 2016 and 2020, Portsmouth police responded to the Mt. Hope Bridge 62 times for mental health crises. 17 people died from suicide at the bridge in that period.

While most Flock cameras in Rhode Island are used to combat crime, Patton believes this can bring even more awareness to suicide prevention.

“To prevent it at all cost, we have to prevent it in all measures where we see there it as problem. There is a problem from that bridge. We are actually doing the least invasive thing to catch those people before they jump,” Patton concluded.

The ACLU did reach out to the council citing some concerns saying in part It is almost inevitable that the use of these cameras will expand over time to engage in more, and more intrusive, types of surveillance