Council approves Flock camera purchase after heated privacy debate, votes to keep 30‑day retention default

Council approved a resolution to purchase Flock license‑plate cameras after an extended discussion about privacy, data retention and access controls.

City staff presented research and said Flock does not sell customer footage; the vendor and staff described the system as plate‑search technology (no facial recognition) with a default 30‑day retention. Resident Rebecca Long spoke during public comment and asked council to consider ACLU recommendations such as shorter retention, clearer limits on who may access footage and restrictions on comparisons to other databases.

During council debate, a member said anonymization and vehicle 'fingerprints' can create mass data collection risks. Staff and the vendor urged that 30 days is standard in the region and helps investigations when crimes are reported late. A Flock representative, who identified himself as Calvin and said he is an account executive at Flock Safety, told council: "There is no private sale of this information. This information is exclusively for our police officers and other police officers around the region."

After discussion and procedural motions, the council moved and passed Resolution F‑341 by voice vote; the transcript records 'Ayes have it' but does not list individual roll‑call tallies. Staff and the vendor said non‑retained footage is deleted after the retention period unless it is pulled for an active investigation.

Next steps: the council adopted the resolution at this meeting; staff noted policy language and vendor practices can be part of implementation discussions and suggested developing local policy on access and sharing.