Neighbors, the Sunset Valley City Council is voting on whether to renew the city's contract with Flock on January 20th at 6pm in City Hall. They will decide whether to renew Flock's contract, and it's important for residents to weigh in.
Here's what we can do now:
- Email each council member: Roy Green, Rob Johnson, Karen Medicus, Charles Young and Dawn Dickson.
- Leave a public comment at https://engagement.sunsetvalley.org/sunset-valley-city-council
- Make a comment at the beginning of the council meeting on Tuesday.
- Talk to your neighbors about our concerns this weekend.
I love our city's neighborliness. We look out for each other, and we're lucky to have such a responsive police chief and department. The problem with Flock cameras is that they're outside our city's control. They continuously record our movements (tens of thousands a day) for a national surveillance company that repeatedly breaks laws, shares access with the federal government, and lies. That's not neighborly, and that doesn't make me feel safe.
Can we find a more trustworthy partner that lets us keep Sunset Valley data in Sunset Valley? Do we need the cameras? Let's not rush to give Flock another $35,000 contract before we examine this.
—John (jkestner@gmail.com if you want to chat)
Flock in the news
- North Texas law enforcement officials used Flock cameras in an attempt to find and prosecute a woman who had recently had an abortion. This has been in the news before, but it's worth noting that this was not a "missing person" report, but a call by an abusive partner. The agency in question, Johnson County PD, has access to Sunset Valley's Flock cameras.
- Redmond turns off Flock Safety cameras after ICE arrests.
- Home Depot investors are asking the company to review how its contract with Flock may affect its operations and reputation.
- Santa Cruz leaders vote to terminate contract with Flock.