City Manager Madari said Tuesday that the city will pause use of Flock AI license‑plate reader cameras and expects the devices to be disabled within 24 hours as the city develops contract language changes and prepares a council work session on surveillance policy.

The move follows a unanimous recommendation earlier by the City Council to consider pausing the system and more than two hours of public comment at the Oct. 13 meeting demanding the cameras’ removal. Community members told the council the cameras threaten privacy, are vulnerable to misuse and insecure, and that the contract hands sensitive location data to a private company.

The council’s earlier action — a unanimous vote during an Oct. 8 work session referenced repeatedly during public comment — led Mayor Knudson and multiple councilors to press for quicker review. “I have worked with Chris Skinner, our chief, on pausing the license plate readers until we can at least finalize contract language changes and have that work session with you. So I would expect in the next 24 hours that those cameras have been disabled,” City Manager Madari told the council and the public.

Speakers representing a broad cross‑section of Eugene voiced opposition during the meeting’s public comment period. Cameron Stringfield of the Party for Socialism and Liberation urged immediate contract termination: "Let's end this whole AI mass surveillance nightmare." Multiple residents echoed that call. Danny Huffsmith said simply, "There's gonna be a lawsuit on your hands if you don't cancel the contract. Cancel the contract," and Bailey Gilmore delivered a multi‑organization letter asking the council to “reject harmful surveillance and end the contract with Flock.”

Several commenters raised documented instances from other jurisdictions where Flock data was used in ways they described as abusive. Technical concerns were also raised: Donovan Mallory told the council the devices broadcast Bluetooth and WPA2 signals and argued the equipment could be hacked. Sam Edwards and other speakers highlighted possible errors in technical claims by Eugene Police Department staff during prior briefings, noting, for example, that a police slide referred to “ADF 256” encryption rather than AES‑256.

Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner was cited by multiple speakers and referenced in staff remarks; Chief Skinner previously advocated for the technology during the council’s work session, and several public commenters pressed leaders to hold the police department accountable for rollout and procurement practices. Speakers also tied the issue to broader concerns about community trust in policing and civil‑liberties impacts, including the potential for Flock data to be used by federal agencies.

City Manager Madari characterized the forthcoming pause as a temporary operational step to allow a deeper policy review and contract revision. Councilors and members of the public called for a definitive end to the contract and for the council to adopt explicit data‑retention, access and oversight rules during the planned work session.

The council did not take a formal vote on canceling the contract at the Oct. 13 meeting; the city manager’s statement and prior unanimous recommendation are administrative and advisory actions pending further council deliberation. Multiple speakers said they would continue advocacy until the contract is terminated and the cameras are removed.

The council indicated it will schedule additional discussion at a future work session on surveillance policy and contract terms. City staff and council members did not provide a specific timeline beyond the city manager’s expectation that the cameras will be disabled within 24 hours.