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Alen Davis urges Benton County commission to reject Flock Safety cameras over privacy, accuracy concerns
Summary
At the Benton County Commission meeting a public commenter asked commissioners to vote against funding Flock Safety camera systems, citing patent language she said shows the systems identify vehicle occupants’ characteristics, and shared examples she said illustrate harmful false matches and system errors.
Alen Davis, a member of the public, urged Benton County commissioners to vote no on funding Flock Safety camera technology, saying the systems do far more than read license plates and pose privacy and accuracy risks.
"The artificial intelligence running these camera systems ... captures the make, model, and color of every vehicle," Davis said, adding that the patent pages she circulated indicate the AI can also "recognize their gender and their race" and even estimate height and weight. She said that capability turns residents into "test subjects" while the machine-learning systems are still training and far from 100% accurate.
Davis cited recent cases she described as examples of false identification and downstream harms. She referenced an incident she said involved Angela Lips, who was wrongly identified by an AI system as a suspect and spent months in custody; and a case she said involved a Flock camera misreading a Toledo license plate, which led to a wrongful stop and injuries, citing the example of Brandon Upurch. ‘‘These people lost jobs, homes and suffered injuries,’’ she said, arguing that insurance and payouts do not undo personal harms.
Davis also disputed vendor accuracy claims and pointed to independent studies she said put real-world accuracy in the mid-60s to 70s percent range, while manufacturers report much higher rates. She raised cybersecurity concerns and potential Federal Trade Commission scrutiny of customer accounts.
"If you want to invest in real improvements for the police department, why not put that money toward body cameras instead?" she said, arguing body cameras directly reduce liability and provide clearer evidence in stops and investigations.
The comment came during the citizens forum; staff and commissioners did not make a funding decision during public comment. City staff later clarified rules for citizen sign-up and said they would consider clearer notice language for future agendas.
