Council member presses privacy, ICE and vendor-data concerns over Flock

At the study session, councilors pressed the police department on how Flock data is shared and whether outside agencies could obtain access, including a repeated concern that use by federal immigration enforcement could harm community trust.

One councilor argued the community weighs safety against privacy and said representatives should "do that risk analysis" about how often Flock would be used for Amber Alerts versus the privacy risk of broader data use. Another said, "I don't trust this administration and its agents going out there," voicing a lack of confidence that other agencies would follow the same rules if they obtained access.

Council members asked staff to seek written confirmation from the vendor about any retained-image access (the presentation referenced a vendor practice described as less than 1% of images retained for product improvement) and discussed bringing the contract back to full council for a formal review and possible amendment removing that retained-data clause. That next step would give councilors an opportunity to negotiate changes to sharing permissions or opt-outs before any automatic renewal.