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Residents press council for review of Flock license‑plate reader contract and public‑records practice
Summary
Multiple public commenters urged Twentynine Palms council to scrutinize the Flock license-plate reader system and a sheriff's press release they said overstated the technology's role in a domestic-violence case; callers also criticized suspension of written-comment recordkeeping and presented AI‑generated emails as evidence of potential legal liabilities.
During public comment at the Twentynine Palms City Council meeting, several residents asked the council to open a public, expert-informed discussion about the city’s Flock license-plate reader system and related data practices.
A resident identified as Diana criticized a recent sheriff’s press release about a domestic-violence incident, saying the release ‘‘reads less like a public safety update and more like a product advertisement for Flock’’ and that the technology was credited in ways that overstate its role in the arrest. Diana said deputies’ investigative work and a human response — not a plate-reader alone — led to the arrest and that public trust requires clearer, factual communication from law enforcement.
Heather Drake (identified in public remarks) said she and her family used AI to draft and send public comments about legal liabilities tied to the Flock contract, arguing the city approved the contract on the consent calendar without public engagement and that stopping the recording of written public comments makes oversight more difficult. Drake said AI analysis flagged a ‘‘moderate to high’’ likelihood of successful litigation based on the contract’s liabilities and urged reallocating surveillance spending to community nonprofits.
Lashar Amaya and others asked the council to schedule a substantive discussion of mass surveillance, data retention, access and third-party sharing and requested that technologists and legal experts be invited. Commenters also noted concerns about warrantless mass surveillance and asked for transparency on data retention periods and who may access the data.
Council members acknowledged the comments and added agenda items for future discussion were suggested; no formal action on the Flock contract occurred during tonight’s meeting. The transcript records no direct response from the sheriff’s office staff during the meeting; residents asked the council to invite experts and to consider the legal and privacy risks explicitly before proceeding with surveillance contracts.
