Costa Mesa council orders tighter Flock Safety contract language after hours of public opposition

The Costa Mesa City Council voted 6-1 late Wednesday to direct the city attorney and police staff to negotiate revisions to the city's contract with Flock Safety, the vendor that provides automated license-plate readers used by the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Council member Lauren Gumeros moved the measure, asking staff to tighten language that governs third-party disclosure, require notice to the city of any legal demand for footage, eliminate ambiguous provisions about "customer-generated data," and prohibit use of anonymized city data for vendor training. Council members discussed lowering the department's current one-year retention policy; police staff said they would be willing to consider a compromise in the 30—5-day range (captain and chief later favored 45 days), while multiple council members and members of the public urged a 21-day limit used by other jurisdictions.

The vote followed a series of staff presentations from Police Chief Lapointe, Captain Carlos Diaz and Lieutenants Jared Barnes and Jake Jacoby, who summarized the department's use of Flock since 2022, said the system currently uses 46 fixed cameras and costs about $151,800 per year, and described successes in stolen-vehicle recoveries and investigations, including examples they said helped solve a homicide and locate a missing person. "Every access must have a legitimate law enforcement purpose, and misuse is not tolerated," Chief Lapointe told the council.

But residents and community groups filled the chamber during an extended public comment period to urge removal of Flock and point to nationwide reports of data sharing and misuse. "This warrantless surveillance represents a direct threat to our community's privacy and dignity," said Crystal Guerra of Underground Grit, one of dozens of speakers who urged canceling the contract. Multiple speakers cited the department's retention policy, a former local officer's admitted misuse of access, and national reporting that linked ALPR networks to out-of-state queries as reasons to end Flock use.

City legal staff told the council that current state law (SB 34 and related Civil Code sections) requires transparency and security safeguards for ALPR systems but acknowledged gaps in contract language that the city could seek to tighten. City Attorney Hall Barlow said the city can require notification of legal process and seek to block inappropriate disclosures; she suggested the council could add provisions that Flock must notify the city if it receives a subpoena, warrant or other legal demand, except in unusual national-security orders.

Council members debated practical trade-offs: some said the technology is an effective investigative tool used in local homicide and missing-person cases; others said the risk to civil liberties and immigrant communities is too great. "We have an obligation to protect both privacy and public safety at the same time," Mayor Stevens said before the vote.

The motion requires staff to return with redlined contract language and a public-facing audit plan; staff indicated they would aim to bring the revisions back to council by November and sooner if possible. The council also discussed auditing frequency, the number of authorized users (police staff reported about 170 authorized accounts), and the ability to control sharing with specific partner agencies.

Outcome and next steps: the motion passed 6-1, with Council member Arlos Reynolds recorded as the lone no vote. The council did not order immediate termination of the Flock contract; instead it directed the city attorney to negotiate specific changes and return with a revised agreement for the council's approval.