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Brookhaven resident asks council to review Flock Safety camera data handling before contract expansion
Summary
A Brookhaven resident and attorney told the council he is concerned about how Flock Safety staff have accessed camera footage in nearby Dunwoody and urged the city to pause contract expansion and review data-guardrails, especially around children’s privacy and potential facial-recognition use.
David Prado, a Brookhaven resident and attorney who identified himself as general counsel for Empiricus Health Corp, urged the council to scrutinize the city’s use and potential contract expansion with Flock Safety, a private vendor that provides automated license-plate and camera surveillance tools.
Prado said his concern is not how Brookhaven officers use the system but "how the data is currently being used" by Flock staff. He cited an open-records request in Dunwoody that showed Flock employees had accessed footage of a local gymnastics center and a public pool and described those viewings as occurring "for many hours." He also noted that more than 1,200 agencies had access to the Dunwoody data and said the company’s move toward facial-recognition capabilities raised privacy questions.
"A product's concern is what is going on with the data? How is it being managed? Is it being resold?" Prado asked the council, and he requested that the city review how Flock manages data internally and consider guardrails for citizens and children.
Council members thanked Prado for speaking; the transcript does not record a detailed staff response or a formal motion directing staff to act. Prado said he was not calling for contract cancellation but asked the council to "pause to review" data-management practices before expanding contractual arrangements.
What’s next: Prado’s statement was part of the public-comment portion of the meeting. The council did not announce any immediate action or a vote on Flock-related contracting at the meeting.
