'Darth Vader' supports Flock cameras in humorous act at city council meeting
The short version: A Darth Vader costume at a San Diego council meeting made headlines, but the joke doesn't change what Flock cameras actually track: you.
Our Take
Credit where it's due: ABC7NY's clip of a guy in a Darth Vader costume testifying in favor of Flock cameras at a San Diego public safety meeting is a genuinely funny bit of local news footage. It's the kind of moment that goes viral precisely because it's absurd — the Dark Lord of the Sith showing up to endorse a mass surveillance network with a straight face, or a mask, anyway.
But strip away the costume and you're left with the same tired script that plays out in council chambers across the country: someone frames automated license plate readers as a harmless public safety tool, and the actual questions — who has access to the data, how long it's retained, whether it's shared with ICE or out-of-state agencies, and what happens when the system misidentifies a car — go unasked or unanswered. San Diego residents deserve a real debate about that infrastructure, not a punchline that lets everyone leave the room feeling good about themselves.
Humor is a fine way to get people's attention, but it shouldn't be the last word. If you want to know whether Flock cameras are already watching your neighborhood, check our map, and if you want to push back where you live, our take-action page has the tools to help you do it.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Eyewitness News ABC7NY, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.