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Resident urges Wenatchee to remove Flock surveillance cameras, calls for transparency portal
Summary
At the Dec. city council meeting, resident Sean Temper urged the City of Wenatchee to remove leased Flock surveillance cameras and to activate a public transparency portal, citing broad third‑party access and privacy risks in his public comment.
Sean Temper, a Wenatchee resident, used the council’s public‑comment period to urge the City to remove Flock Group’s surveillance cameras and to publish a transparency portal showing which cameras are active.
Temper said the system collects 30 days of searchable vehicle “fingerprints” and alleged the city’s contract grants Flock a “nonexclusive worldwide irrevocable royalty‑free right to use and distribute” the data. He said Flock hires overseas workers to label images, has technology to categorize people by physical characteristics, and that public access logs show searches by federal and out‑of‑state agencies, which he said creates a public‑safety and privacy risk. “The city should remove these cameras and be done with Flock Group Incorporated,” Temper said.
The council did not take immediate action on the complaint during the meeting; the public‑comment period concluded and the agenda moved to consent items. Temper said he wanted a Transparency Portal activated so residents can see which cameras are operating.
Why it matters: City‑leased automated camera systems have become the focal point of privacy debates in multiple Washington cities because of the volume of data they collect and questions about vendor access. Temper’s comments put the issue in front of council as the city moves into a new budget year and considers contracts and technology use policies.
What the transcript shows: Temper cited specific claims about data retention, labeling practices, and agency searches; those allegations were delivered as public comment and were not tested in the meeting. The transcript does not record a staff response or a council directive to open an investigation during this session.
Next steps: No formal council action was recorded on the Flock cameras during the meeting. The issue could reappear on a future agenda if council or staff pursue it following public comment.
