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Residents urge Lebanon to stop Flock camera program, cite legal and financial risk
Summary
Multiple residents told the Lebanon City Council that the Flock/AI camera network threatens privacy and could expose the city to costly lawsuits; some speakers urged defunding the contract and cited recent court rulings and documented misuse cases.
An extended string of public commenters urged the Lebanon City Council to halt or not renew the city’s contract for Flock Safety camera technology, arguing that the system creates a searchable database of vehicle location data and risks Fourth Amendment violations.
"This technology should only be used on our enemies on foreign battlefields, not on free men and women," Michael Qualls (speaker 12) said during public comment, reading from court syllabi and citing cases he said show that location databases can amount to a search. Several other residents warned of officer misuse, lawsuits and the fiscal consequences of litigation; Jeremy Frizzell (speaker 22) listed cities that have canceled similar contracts and warned Lebanon could face expensive legal claims.
Speakers repeatedly described documented incidents of misuse and presented the risk as both constitutional and financial. Rick Julian (speaker 13) urged the council to "defund the contract when it's time for the renewal," and others pointed to high-profile local and national lawsuits involving geofencing and automated surveillance.
Councilors acknowledged the concerns during the public-comment period but did not take an immediate formal vote or direction to terminate the system at this meeting. Several council members later said they wanted more legal review and discussion before changing procurement decisions that involve contracts and potential obligations.
