'Darth Vader' makes the case for Flock cameras at city council meeting

Our Take

Guardian News caught a genuinely bizarre moment: someone in a full Darth Vader costume stood up at a San Diego city council meeting to argue in favor of Flock Safety cameras. It's the kind of clip that's built for virality — helmet, cape, ominous breathing, all in service of a pitch for more license plate readers on city streets. Credit to the Guardian for capturing it, because the theater says something real about how these votes actually go down.

Strip away the costume and you're left with the same script that plays out in council chambers across the country: a vendor-friendly pitch about crime-fighting technology, a handful of public comments, and a vote that expands a private company's access to the movements of every driver in town. Flock doesn't need a villain costume to make its case — it has slick sales decks and law enforcement testimonials. The Vader bit is a distraction from the actual stakes: a growing network of cameras logging where you go, who you visit, and how often, with data that can be shared well beyond the city that approved it.

San Diego is far from alone. These systems are getting rubber-stamped in council meetings nationwide, often with minimal public scrutiny and even less understanding of the surveillance infrastructure being built. If you want to see whether Flock has already landed near you, check our camera map, and if you want to push back before your own council votes on this, our take-action resources can help you make the case without needing a costume.