As more cities across Western Washington move to pause or cancel their contracts with surveillance company Flock Safety, questions are mounting over how much ta
The Redmond Police Department previously suspended operation of its automated license-plate reader system, commonly known as “Flock cameras." As more cities across Western Washington move to pause or cancel their contracts with surveillance company Flock Safety, questions are mounting over how much taxpayer money has already been spent and whether any of it could be lost.
Redmond city officials announced Wednesday that they are suspending their contract with the company, whose automated license plate reader cameras have been offline for several months. City leaders initially paused the program on Nov. 3, citing community concerns about privacy and potential federal access to the data.Redmond remains under contract with Flock Safety through early June 2027. The city spent about $146,000 on the cameras, including nearly $95,000 from a Department of Commerce grant, $44,000 from the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority, and $7,500 from the city’s general fund. It remains unclear whether any Western Washington cities that have ended or paused their agreements will be required to repay grant funding or pay penalties for breaking contracts. In some cases, cities that terminate grant-funded agreements before the grant period expires could be required to return funds to the state or issuing agency. Breaching a contract with Flock could also obligate a city to pay for the remaining years of the agreement. Mountlake Terrace was among the first cities to terminate its contract before cameras were installed. In December, the Mountlake Terrace City Council ended the $54,000 agreement but remained responsible for the first year’s payment of $27,000. Police Chief Peter Caw said the city continues to negotiate with Flock Safety over the outstanding balance. Lynnwood terminated its $171,000 contract last month. The project was largely funded through a $132,000 grant from the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority, with an additional $38,000 coming from the police department’s budget. Lynnwood Council President Nick Coelho said he does not anticipate the city will need to repay the grant, though details are still being finalized. He cited a recent court ruling determining that images captured by Flock cameras are public records subject to disclosure, saying the ruling created new legal and operational concerns.Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin similarly pointed to the court ruling in announcing a pause of the city’s Flock system. Everett received $250,000 in grants from the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority and the U.S. Department of Justice to fund a two-year agreement. The city had argued the footage should be exempt from disclosure on privacy grounds and is considering an appeal. In Redmond, the City Council is scheduled to hold a study session on Tuesday to examine the police department’s use of public safety technologies, including automated license plate readers. Flock cameras capture images of passing vehicles, and artificial intelligence analyzes the footage. Law enforcement officers can search the system using details such as a vehicle’s make, model, color or distinguishing damage, even without a license plate number. The technology has been used nationwide to investigate crimes, including vehicle theft.However, researchers at the University of Washington identified instances in which federal agencies accessed multiple Flock networks across the state. In some cases, local agencies had enabled a sharing feature that allowed participating law enforcement agencies nationwide to search their camera networks, sometimes without fully understanding the scope of access.Prosecutors have charged 33 people with criminal trespass related to the occupation of the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building at UW last year.A head-on crash involving a Jefferson Transit bus shut down Highway 104 in Tuesday evening, leaving one person dead and several others injured.State lawmakers are set to take up as a proposal that would raise taxes on cigarettes and vaping products moves to the House after clearing the Senate.In a 5-2 vote, the Pierce County Council approved a new .1% public safety sales tax at its meeting Tuesday evening."We've seen enough," Tampa International Airport wrote on social media early Thursday morning. "We've had enough."
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