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Resident urges Gardner to suspend Flock camera contract over privacy and lack of oversight
Summary
A Gardner resident told the council the city paid about $33,000 for Flock cameras and pays roughly $13,000 a year for a contract that auto‑renews, urging suspension and a non‑renewal notice until a public policy and audit process are in place.
Eric Arnold, a Gardner resident, urged the city council to suspend the city’s contract with Flock, the license‑plate reader vendor, saying the system duplicates in‑car plate‑reading and creates a permanent, searchable record of ordinary residents’ movements. "I want these cameras gone," Arnold said, adding that Gardner paid about $33,000 to install the cameras and is paying about $13,000 per year under a contract that he said will automatically renew.
Steve Shute, another resident, told the council the always‑on, stationary cameras raise Fourth Amendment concerns and cited local and out‑of‑state cases in which officers used similar systems to stalk individuals. "These AI‑enabled cameras can actually create...a digital dossier on an individual's movements," Shute said, arguing the risk of abuse makes local action appropriate.
Chief Herron responded during council updates that the department currently has one city‑owned stationary Flock camera and is reviewing policies as part of an accreditation process. He said audits historically have been complaint‑driven and that sworn officers have access under NCIC/KCIC rules. "To the best of my knowledge, there is one Flock camera in this city that we own," the chief said, and staff committed to bring the current policy and a proposed timeline for a policy update to council before the contract renewal.
Council members asked staff to provide details about the renewal window, the vendor’s changing standard terms and what outside entities, if any, can access the city’s data. Staff said the exact tariff or renewal timing for the contract would be provided in a future presentation and offered to bring the matter back for council approval before renewal. The council did not take a formal vote on the recommendation to suspend or terminate the contract at this meeting; staff agreed to present a policy proposal and timeline so the council can consider non‑renewal or additional oversight prior to the contract’s automatic renewal.
