Residents press council over "Rolling Thunder" checkpoints, camera surveillance and ICE detentions; mayor says the state agency ran the operation

Several residents used the Warner Robins City Council public-comment period to criticize Operation Rolling Thunder, the city’s Flock camera surveillance program and immigration detainments they said tore families apart.

Minister Crumpton, who gave his address at the meeting, invoked the Fourth Amendment and called mass surveillance “repugnant to the Constitution,” saying the city’s use of camera tracking and automated systems can undermine due process. "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated," Crumpton said. "Under the banner of public safety, our privacy . . . has been compromised by mass surveillance through the Flock camera system."

A resident who identified herself as living at 111 Sherwood — referenced at the meeting as Lucia — described an ICE detainment of a neighbor she knows as Cassandra that she said left children traumatized and a family financially devastated. "This is not just a policy issue. This is a human rights issue," she said, and urged greater accountability and reform.

Michael Jones, another speaker, called Rolling Thunder an "overreach and abuse of power" and urged the council to redirect grant funds to sidewalks, lighting and youth programs instead of increased surveillance. He asked the council to produce data showing the claimed traffic-safety problem is unique to Warner Robins and requested that council members and the police chief appear to "defend your position" within 72 hours.

Council members and the mayor responded during council comments. Councilman Bibb said the city uses technology to investigate crime and that footage is reviewed when crimes are reported: "If we use technology to make our city safer and to track crime, that's a good thing, not a bad thing," he said. Councilman Lashley and Councilman Holmes said the city does not control all state or federal operations and that local officials have limits when operations are led by higher authorities.

Mayor LaRhonda W Patrick said Rolling Thunder "did not belong to the city of Warner Robins or the City of Warner Robins Police Department. It belonged to the Governor's Office of Highway Safety." She said the city operated on state requirements during the event and that "we will not sit back and allow any harm to come" to residents, promising the city would seek different rules in the future to prevent a recurrence of tactics residents found objectionable.

The mayor and council said they have been reassured by the local police leadership that footage from the Flock camera system is accessed according to department procedures and is not used to surveil residents absent suspected criminal activity.

No formal policy change or vote on surveillance or immigration enforcement occurred during the meeting; council members instead said they would pursue clarifications from state or law-enforcement partners and continue to discuss oversight options.