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Residents urge Pensacola council to cancel Flock Safety license-plate camera contract
Summary
Dozens of residents told the Pensacola City Council they want the city's contract with Flock Safety terminated, raising privacy, security and funding concerns and asking why opioid-abatement funds paid for the system.
Dozens of residents urged the Pensacola City Council on April 9 to end the city's contract with Flock Safety, arguing the license-plate cameras capture and retain vehicle data broadly and threaten privacy.
The comments came during the council's Leroy Boyd public forum, where Sam Epstein told the council the system "captures every plate it sees and retains them all for 30 days," calling that "blanket surveillance with selective searching." Multiple speakers cited cases from other cities and claimed Flock cameras have led to wrongful arrests and insecure access to camera feeds.
Public commenters repeatedly questioned the contract's provenance and the funding source. "Our mayor signed this contract without y'all's approval," said Jiraso Alfonso, who added that the system was paid for from opioid-abatement funds. Pepper Weimer also asked whether the city has reviewed relevant laws and demanded an investigation into who authorized the purchase.
Several commenters focused on technical and security concerns. Casey Harris, who identified himself as a cybersecurity expert, said the company "refuses to allow their systems to be audited" and described vulnerabilities Watch Dogs and other groups have reported. Raylene Solis told the council Flock employees have inappropriately accessed data in other jurisdictions.
Speakers asked the council for one of three outcomes: termination of the contract, immediate shutdown and removal of cameras, or clear public oversight and audit rights. Advocates said they will continue rallies and petitions until the contract is ended.
Council members acknowledged strong public sentiment and noted limits on council authority over the contract. "The administration won't tell me where the Flock cameras are," one council member said later in the meeting, adding staff had described location data as restricted for operational-security reasons.
The council did not vote on Flock at the April 9 meeting. A second public-comment period at the end of the meeting included another speaker who urged transparency and again called for the mayor to cancel the contract.
The most recent procedural step or next action was not set on the record at the meeting; speakers said they plan continued public pressure and petitions.
