Residents demand transparency, apology after Spring Valley Park police response; calls grow to end Flock Safety contract

Dozens of residents pressed the Kalamazoo City Commission on Monday for swift transparency and accountability after a June 28 police response at Spring Valley Park that many witnesses described as heavy-handed and traumatic.

Speakers at the public-comment period identified multiple concerns: the collection and retention of license-plate information, the apparent use of chemical irritants around children, the sudden escalation of police presence, and limited public access to the contract and audit logs for Flock Safety camera systems used by local agencies.

Why it matters: Speakers said the incident exposed gaps in oversight and data governance. Residents testified that family gatherings and multigenerational Sunday Fundays were met with crowd-control tactics, picture-taking of private vehicles and license plates, and a perceived lack of communication with attendees before escalation. Several asked that any warnings, tickets, or license-plate entries taken in connection with the event be removed promptly.

Community testimony and claims

"Who made the decision to escalate the response?" Ernest Gaffin Jr. asked the commission, requesting release of complete dispatch records and radio communications so "the public can understand exactly what happened." Matt Griffith, representing the Get the Flock Out of Kalamazoo campaign, urged the city to release the contract with Flock Safety and to produce search logs showing who has accessed camera and ALPR data.

A speaker who reviewed county audit logs told the commission an ATF agent accessed Kalamazoo camera searches tied to an immigration-related warrant; the reviewer also said neighboring agencies resisted disclosure when the police chief investigated. The reviewer said audit logs showed searches that should have been restricted and concluded that contractual terms and web-hosted vendor policies can give the vendor practical control over access and distribution of footage and ALPR results.

City response and next steps

Commissioners and staff acknowledged the depth of community concern. Commissioner Alonzo Wilson recounted attending a meeting between KDPS and Sunday Funday organizers and said officers "listened to those concerns" and that organizers and police stayed at the table to seek solutions. Vice Mayor Duncan called the on-scene response "beyond revolting," said it violated city use-of-force guidelines when elders and children were present, and urged the commission to direct staff to delete any warnings or ticketing entries tied to the incident "fast, not slow." Mayor Anderson asked staff to continue follow-up work.

What residents want

Speakers asked for: public release of dispatch logs, body and dash camera footage, and audit/search logs; a public apology from KDPS; deletion of license-plate entries or warnings tied to the event; a review and potential revision of the mobile nuisance-party ordinance (code referenced by some speakers as 55-21); and a requirement that future contracts with surveillance vendors go before the commission.

Surveillance, contracts and FOIA

Multiple commenters said the city's Flock Safety contract is not publicly posted and that FOIA requests have been the only means to obtain related documents. A number of speakers described clauses in Flock's online terms that, in examples from other municipalities, created broad vendor rights to use or share data and that vendor-hosted terms can change without formal contract amendments. City attorney and FOIA staff later told the commission the volume of FOIA requests — many tied to KDPS records — has risen sharply and that complex requests for bodycam footage can be resource-intensive to process.

What the commission plans next

Commissioners repeatedly said they heard the public. Several recommended quick operational steps — including releasing review findings, evaluating any administrative warnings tied to the park response, and reporting back on the status of contracts and data access logs — and urged additional community engagement and options for non-law-enforcement responses to park complaints.

The commission did not take a formal vote on any policy change Monday; residents said they will continue to press for a formal public statement, an apology and clearer oversight of surveillance tools.